Scribd
Upload
72 views

The Third Conditional: Past Perfect Past Participle

The document discusses the four types of conditional sentences in English: 1) The third conditional uses the past perfect after "if" and "would have" + past participle to talk about situations that did not happen in the past. 2) The second conditional uses the past simple after "if" and "would" + infinitive to describe unlikely future events or present impossibilities. 3) The first conditional uses the present simple after "if" and "will" + infinitive to talk about possible future events. 4) The zero conditional uses the present simple to describe general truths without reference to time.

Uploaded by

Pedro Beltre
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
72 views

The Third Conditional: Past Perfect Past Participle

The document discusses the four types of conditional sentences in English: 1) The third conditional uses the past perfect after "if" and "would have" + past participle to talk about situations that did not happen in the past. 2) The second conditional uses the past simple after "if" and "would" + infinitive to describe unlikely future events or present impossibilities. 3) The first conditional uses the present simple after "if" and "will" + infinitive to talk about possible future events. 4) The zero conditional uses the present simple to describe general truths without reference to time.

Uploaded by

Pedro Beltre
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 5

The Third Conditional

https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/conditional-exercises.html

We make the third conditional by using the past perfect after 'if' and then 'would have'
and the past participle in the second part of the sentence:

 if + past perfect, ...would + have + past participle

It talks about the past. It's used to describe a situation that didn't happen, and to
imagine the result of this situation.

 If she had studied, she would have passed the exam (but, really we know she
didn't study and so she didn't pass)
 If I hadn't eaten so much, I wouldn't have felt sick (but I did eat a lot, and so
I did feel sick).
 If we had taken a taxi, we wouldn't have missed the plane
 She wouldn't have been tired if she had gone to bed earlier
 She would have become a teacher if she had gone to university
 He would have been on time for the interview if he had left the house at nine

The Second Conditional


The second conditional uses the past simple after if, then 'would' and the infinitive:

 if + past simple, ...would + infinitive

(We can use 'were' instead of 'was' with 'I' and 'he/she/it'. This is mostly done in formal
writing).

It has two uses.

First, we can use it to talk about things in the future that are probably not going to be
true. Maybe I'm imagining some dream for example.

 If I won the lottery, I would buy a big house.(I probably won't win the lottery)
 If I met the Queen of England, I would say hello.
 She would travel all over the world if she were rich.
 She would pass the exam if she ever studied.(She never studies, so this won't
happen)
Second, we can use it to talk about something in the present which is impossible,
because it's not true. Is that clear? Have a look at the examples:

 If I had his number, I would call him. (I don't have his number now, so it's
impossible for me to call him).
 If I were you, I wouldn't go out with that man.

How is this different from the first conditional?


This kind of conditional sentence is different from the first conditional because this is a
lot more unlikely.

For example (second conditional): If I had enough money I would buy a house with
twenty bedrooms and a swimming pool (I'm probably not going to have this much
money, it's just a dream, not very real)

But (first conditional): If I have enough money, I'll buy some new shoes (It's much more
likely that I'll have enough money to buy some shoes)

The First Conditional


The first conditional has the present simple after 'if', then the future simple in the
other clause:

 if + present simple, ... will + infinitive

It's used to talk about things which might happen in the future. Of course, we can't know
what will happen in the future, but this describes possible things, which could easily
come true.

 If it rains, I won't go to the park.


 If I study today, I'll go to the party tonight.
 If I have enough money, I'll buy some new shoes.
 She'll be late if the train is delayed.
 She'll miss the bus if she doesn't leave soon.
 If I see her, I'll tell her.

First vs. Zero Conditional:


The first conditional describes a particular situation, whereas the zero
conditional describes what happens in general.
For example (zero conditional): if you sit in the sun, you get burned (here I'm talking
about every time a person sits in the sun - the burning is a natural consequence of the
sitting)

But (first conditional): if you sit in the sun, you'll get burned (here I'm talking about
what will happen today, another day might be different)

First vs. Second Conditional:


The first conditional describes things that I think are likely to happen in the future,
whereas the second conditional talks about things that I don't think will really happen.
It's subjective; it depends on my point of view.

For example (first conditional): If she studies harder, she'll pass the exam (I think it's
possible she will study harder and so she'll pass)

But (second conditional): If she studied harder, she would pass the exam (I think that
she won't study harder, or it's very unlikely, and so she won't pass)

Conditionals

What are conditionals in English grammar? Sometimes we call them 'if clauses'. They
describe the result of something that might happen (in the present or future) or might
have happened but didn't (in the past) . They are made using different English verb
tenses.
Download my infographic!

There are four main kinds of conditionals:

 The Zero Conditional:


(if + present simple, ... present simple)
If you heat water to 100 degrees, it boils.
Click here to learn more.
 The First Conditional:
(if + present simple, ... will + infinitive)
If it rains tomorrow, we'll go to the cinema.
Click here to learn more.
 The Second Conditional:
(if + past simple, ... would + infinitive)
If I had a lot of money, I would travel around the world.
Click here to learn more.
 The Third Conditional
(if + past perfect, ... would + have + past participle)
If I had gone to bed early, I would have caught the train.
Click here to learn more.

(Notice we can put 'if' at the beginning, or in the middle. It doesn't matter at all.)

You might also like