LoginConditional III
This article dives into the Conditional III, like 'If he had studied, he would have passed the exam'. Detailed explanations and a quiz are included to test your knowledge.
What Are Third Conditionals?
The third conditional is a type of conditional sentence that deals with hypothetical or unreal situations in the past that did not actually happen. It is often used to describe a different version of the past that could have happened if certain conditions were met. The third conditional is often used to talk about unfulfilled dreams, wishes, or missed opportunities in the past.
Third Conditional: Structure
The structure of a third conditional sentence includes an 'if-clause' that presents a hypothetical past condition using the past perfect tense, and a 'main clause' that indicates the hypothetical past result using the modal perfect verb 'would have' plus the past participle form of the verb. Thus, the structure is as follows:
[If + past perfect] + [could/would/should + have + past participle]
Take a look at some examples:
If I had remembered her number, I would have called her.
By using third conditional, the speaker is imagining a different past where they remembered her number.
If he hadn't eaten that spoiled fish, he wouldn't have been sick.
The sentence indicates that in reality he ate that spoiled fish.
Punctuation
When the 'if clause' comes at the beginning of the sentence, it must be followed by a comma (,). Here is an example.
If you had told me you were coming, I would have made dinner.
However, if the sentence begins with the main clause, there is no need to put a comma between the two clauses. For example:
I would have made dinner if you had told me you were coming.
Second vs. Third Conditionals
The main difference between the second and third conditional structures is that the third conditional is used to talk about a hypothetical or unreal situation in the past that did not actually happen. On the other hand, the second conditional is used to talk about an unreal situation in the present or future that is unlikely to happen.
The two also differ in terms of structure, where the second conditional uses simple past + would/could/should + base form of the verb, but the third conditional consists of *past perfect + would/could/should + have + the past participle form of the verb.
Compare these two sentences:
If I had won one million dollars, I would have bought a house.
This is an impossible situations, because it never happened and the past event cannot be changed.
If I won one million dollars, I would buy a house.
Here, the condition is not impossible, but it is improbable.
Conditional Tenses
Conditional tenses are used to create the main clause of a conditional sentence, which expresses hypothetical or unlikely situations. Modal verbs like could, would, should and might are examples of conditional verbs. Each of these modals indicates a specific meaning. Compare the following sentences:
If he had finished high school, he would have gone to college.
'Would' indicates that if he had finished high school, he would have certainly gone to college.
If he had finished high school, he might have gone to college.
'Might' indicates that even if he had finished high school, it is not certain that he would have gone to college.
If he had finished high school, he could have gone to college.
'Could' indicates that if he had finished high school, he would have been able to go to college.
Review
When we use third conditional, we are talking about the result of something that did NOT happen. In fact, we are imagining a different past.
Structure
Here is the structure:
if clause | past perfect |
main clause | could/would/should + have + past participle |
If I had remembered her number, I would have called her.
Comparison
second | we are imagining a hypothetical situation in the present or future. | If I won 1M dollars, I would buy a house. |
|---|---|---|
third | we are imagining a hypothetical situation in the past. | If I had won 1M dollars, I would have bought a house. |
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