Possible worlds
by Tom Hayton
The English language requires us to believe in parallel universes or alternate possible worlds. Take the sentence:
If I was rich, I’d buy a penthouse.
This sentence expresses the idea that there is a possible world where I am rich and therefore invest in a penthouse.
This structure is known as the second conditional and has the form:
If + subject + past simple, subject + would (’d)+ verb
If I was rich, would buy a penthouse
To make sense of this sentence, we need to understand the idea of counterfactuals. These are sentences that express states of affairs that differ from actual reality.
If Bill wasn’t so lazy, he’d be the richest guy on the sales team.
This counterfactual sentence tells us about a possible world in which Bill is (actually is) the richest guy on the team.
The truth of this sentence depends on the notion of possibility. If this sentence is true, then it must also be possible. Otherwise, when I utter it, it becomes meaningless because I am stating my belief in the impossible. Clearly, I must believe that Bill really is talented and that there is an alternate reality – a different possible world – in which he really is the richest guy on the team.
To illustrate this point, take this sentence:
If I were you, I’d abandon the project.
There’s considerable debate about whether sentences like this make any real sense – since I cannot be you. In this case, I can only ever go as far as imagining myself being you. That’s still not the same as actually being you! Here, we are not entering another possible world, but rather a purely illustrative one for the purpose of giving advice.
Let’s return to our two original examples:
If I was rich, I’d buy a penthouse.
If Bill wasn’t so lazy, he’d be the richest guy on the sales team.
In order for these statements to be meaningful, I need to have enough evidence from the actual, real world I am in right now to be able to back up the claim.
If anyone questioned whether I would really buy a penthouse if I was rich, I could show them a few locations I have my eye on and explain the pros and cons of each one. In other words, the missing element is only the money.
If anyone questioned Bill’s ability to become the richest guy on the sales team, I could point to the fact that he works half the hours of everyone else and still earns a good (but not the highest) salary. There’s therefore good reason to believe that he would, in fact, be the richest guy on the team if he diverted more of his time to making money.
The key thing to remember, therefore, is that the sentence must be verifiably true if the counterfactual element of second conditional sentences, expressed in the ‘if’ clause, e.g.
If I was rich ?
If Bill wasn’t so lazy ?
If I were you ?
becomes false – i.e. I become rich, or Bill suddenly becomes really dedicated to his job, or I am you.
In the third example, the sentence is purely illustrative, as there is no such possible world in which I am you.
Tom Hayton is a Business Trainer with the Professional Development Unit (PDU), at the British Council Malaysia. The PDU offers a wide range of learning opportunities from management and communication skills training to developing English skills. Visit its website at www.britishcouncil.org.my or e-mail thomas.hayton@britishcouncil.org.my
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