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Third Conditional Overview

This document discusses the third conditional, which expresses hypothetical situations that are contrary to reality because the condition did not occur in the past. It has two clauses: an "if" clause using the past perfect tense to refer to the hypothetical past condition, and a main clause using the perfect conditional to refer to the hypothetical result. Examples are given of third conditional sentences and their structure of referring to unreal past situations and outcomes.

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Valter Pinheiro Lima
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17 views1 page

Third Conditional Overview

This document discusses the third conditional, which expresses hypothetical situations that are contrary to reality because the condition did not occur in the past. It has two clauses: an "if" clause using the past perfect tense to refer to the hypothetical past condition, and a main clause using the perfect conditional to refer to the hypothetical result. Examples are given of third conditional sentences and their structure of referring to unreal past situations and outcomes.

Uploaded by

Valter Pinheiro Lima
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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THIRD CONDITIONAL SENTENCES

1. Form
In a Type 3 conditional sentence, the tense in the 'if' clause is the past perfect, and the tense
in the main clause is the perfect conditional:

'IF' CLAUSE MAIN CLAUSE

If + past perfect Perfect conditional


If it had rained you would have got wet
If you had worked harder you would have passed the exam.

In these sentences, the time is past, and the situation is contrary to reality. The facts they are
based on are the opposite of what is expressed.

Type 3 conditional sentences, are truly hypothetical or unreal, because it is now too late for
the condition or its result to exist. There is always an unspoken "but..." phrase:

If I had worked harder I would have passed the exam


(but I didn't work hard, and I didn't pass the exam).
If I'd known you were coming I'd have baked a cake
(but I didn't know, and I haven't baked a cake).

NOTE: Both would and had can be contracted to 'd, which can be confusing. Remember that
you NEVER use would in the IF-clause, so in the example above, "If I'd known" must be "If I
had known", and "I'd have baked" must be "I would have baked.."

Examples:

a. If I'd known you were in hospital, I would have visited you.


b. I would have bought you a present if I'd known it was your birthday.
c. If they'd had a better goalkeeper they wouldn't have lost the game.
d. If you had told me you were on the Internet, I'd have sent you an e-mail.
e. Would you have bought an elephant if you'd known how much they eat?

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