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Learn to Speak German Online:
German Grammar Guidebook

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Real versus Unreal: Present and Past

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The shift between "real" and "hypothetical" statements can take place either in the present or in the past.

PRESENT
 

Hypothetical
If I were you...
Real
but I’m not.

PAST
 

Hypothetical
If we hadn’t driven through the Harz Mountains...
Real
but we did.

The hypothetical past forms for English usually have "had" or "would have" plus the past participle.
 

  had Past Participle
If I hadn’t had change,
would have Past Participle
I wouldn’t have been able to call.