▷ The Third Conditional: Structure and Comparison by Thelma Elliott - Profesor/a de inglés

The Third Conditional: Structure and Comparison

Imagine waking up from a dream where you were a famous singer or a great athlete. Wouldn't it be cool if those dreams could come true?

Well, we can't time-travel, but we can talk about what could have happened. That's where the third conditional comes in!

Let's learn how to say things like, "If I had studied harder, I would have passed the exam."

Want to learn more? Get ready to explore this grammar magic.

The Third Conditional: a different past

What is it?

Well, the third conditional is a grammar tool used to imagine what might have happened if things had been different in the past. It describes situations that didn't actually occur and are just hypothetical or made-up. It typically involves an if clause with the past perfect tense and a main clause with “would have” plus the past participle.

What does it mean?

We use it to express regret, disappointment, or just to imagine how things could have been different. It is also used to reflect on the missed opportunities.

Got it?
Let's try to understand it better by these examples:

  1. 1. If I had known the answer, would you have helped me?
    2. If we had caught the train, we wouldn't have missed the fest.
    3. She would have bought the house if it hadn't been so expensive.

 

Does that make more sense? Now let me show you how to form the structure.
 

Structure of the Third Conditional

Let's see a sentence of the third conditional which can be written in two ways.

  1. 1. Standard Structure

"If + past perfect, would have + past participle"
In the standard structure of the third conditional sentence, the "If Clause" (the condition) always precedes the "Main Clause" (the result).
Example:
a. If
it hadn’t rained, we would have gone to the beach.