ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Counterfactual conditional

A counterfactual conditional is a type of sentence that is used to talk about a situation that is not real. It usually starts with the words 'If', 'When', 'As if', or 'Suppose'. For example, if I say "If I had wings, I could fly", this is a counterfactual statement because it talks about a situation (me having wings) that is not real.