If I were you..., imagine he were to win...

These structures express hypothetical or unreal situations. 'If I were you' is a fixed phrase used to give advice by imagining yourself in another person's position. 'Were to + verb' describes an unlikely or imagined future event and is often followed by a result clause with would/could/might.

• 'If I were you' = advice based on an imagined position.
• Second conditional form: If + past subjunctive (were), would + base verb.
• 'Were to + infinitive' = hypothetical future, often unlikely or formal.
• Use these forms to talk about unreal present/future situations and their imagined consequences.

Remember the most important guidelines for these structures:

• Use 'were' (past subjunctive) for all subjects in unreal or hypothetical present/future: If I were, If he were, If we were.
• Use 'were to + verb' to talk about an imagined or unlikely future event.
• The main clause usually uses would/could/might + base verb to show the consequence.
• 'If I were you' is the standard formula for polite advice.

Formal writing prefers 'were' (not 'was') and allows inversion: 'Were I you, I would...'.

Learners frequently make predictable mistakes with these hypothetical forms. Watch out for:

• Using 'was' instead of 'were' in formal/unreal conditions (formal preference: 'If I were', not 'If I was').
• Putting 'would' in the if-clause (wrong: If I would go ..., correct: If I went / If I were to go, I would ...).
• Mixing tenses incorrectly between the if-clause and the result clause.
• Forgetting that 'were to' requires the base verb after 'to' (correct: were to win, not were to winning).
• Using 'would' in both clauses, which removes the clear hypothetical structure.

Check the structure: If + past subjunctive (were / were to) → would/could/might + base verb.