Nuanced counterfactual structures
Objective: Express remote conditions, exceptions and imagined alternatives precisely.
Explanation
Counterfactual meaning can use but for, were it not for, supposing and inverted conditional structures.
Examples
- But for her intervention, the plan would have failed.
- Were it not for the funding, the work would stop.
Practice
Choose the correct answer.
___ the emergency funding, the programme would have ended last year.
Practice
Choose the correct answer.
___ the additional staff, the department would be unable to meet demand.
Practice
Choose the correct answer.
___ the initial assumption were wrong, how would the interpretation change?