If Conditional: Type 3 Conditional – English, B1, B2
TYPE 3 CONDITIONAL SENTENCES
- 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 If it had rained If you had worked harder |
Perfect conditional you would have got wet you would have passed the exam. |
Perfect conditional – form
The perfect conditional of any verb is composed of two elements: would + the perfect infinitive of the main verb (=have + past participle):
| Subject | would | perfect infinitive |
| He They |
would would |
have gone… have stayed… |
| Affirmative | ||
| I | would | have believed … |
| Negative | ||
| She | wouldn’t | have given… |
| Interrogative | ||
| Would | you | have left…? |
| Interrogative negative | ||
| Wouldn’t | he | have been…? |
Example: to go, Past conditional
| Affirmative | Negative | Interrogative |
| I would have gone | I wouldn’t have gone | Would I have gone? |
| You would have gone | You wouldn’t have gone | Would you have gone? |
| He would have gone | She wouldn’t have gone | Would it have gone? |
| We would have gone | We wouldn’t have gone | Would we have gone? |
| You would have gone | You wouldn’t have gone | Would you have gone? |
| They would have gone | They wouldn’t have gone | Would they have gone? |
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).
The Third Conditional
|
PRACTICE:
Fill the gap using the verb in brackets. Think very carefully about the meaning of the phrase before deciding whether to use a negative or positive verb form.
| 1 | I wouldn’t be angry if you __________________ my chocolate mousse. (to eat) |
| 2 | If he had known you were in hospital, he __________________ you. (to visit) |
| 3 | We wouldn’t have come by taxi if we __________________ the right bus. (to find) |
| 4 | We would have visited the Prado gallery if we __________________ time. (to have) |
| 5 | If you hadn’t been asking me questions all the time, I __________________ the film.(to enjoy) |
| 6 | If I __________________ your number, I would have phoned.(to know) |
| 7 | If just one person had remembered my birthday, I __________________ sad. (to be) |
| 8 | I would have understood the film if it __________________ in German. (to be*) |
Good luck!
