Third conditional – past unreal situations

Third conditional – past unreal situations

Exercise 1

Choose the correct form to make third conditional sentences.

1 If you had trained more, you wouldn't have losthadn't lostdidn't lose so easily.

2 We wouldn't have spent all the money if you didn't insistwouldn't have insistedhadn't insisted on going to that boutique.

3 If you had told me that you were having problems, I would helpcould have helpedhad helped you.

4 If I would knowwould have knownhad known that she was in town, I would have called her.

5 If she had offered a better price for the car, I might have boughthad boughtwould buy it.

6 There wouldn't have been so many problems if they organisedhad organisedwould have organised the race a bit better.

7 We hadn't gotwouldn't have gotwouldn't get lost if you had asked for directions.

8 We would never have met if you hadn't introducedhasn't introducedwouldn't have introduced us to each other at that party.

9 If she had embarrassed me in front of all my friends, I had hatedwill hatewould have hated her for ever.

10 I could have savedwould savehad saved her life if I had paid more attention.

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Third conditional – Grammar Chart

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If clause and main clause

We use the past perfect in the if-clause of a third conditional sentence to talk about an imaginary or hypothetical situation in the past, and we use would have, could have or might have + past participle in the main clause to talk about the result or consequence of that imaginary situation.

• If you had come to class more often, you would have passed the test.
• If he hadn’t taken his helmet, he could have died.
• If the jacket had been a bit cheaper, I might have bought it.

Comma

As with all conditional types, we use a comma after the if–clause when it goes at the beginning of the sentence, but we don’t use a comma when the if-clause goes at the end.

• If I hadn’t overslept, I wouldn’t have been late.
• I wouldn’t have been late if I hadn’t overslept.

Unless

We can also use unless in conditional sentences to mean if … (not)

• I wouldn’t have arrived on time unless I had taken a taxi.
• = I wouldn’t have arrived on time if I hadn’t taken a taxi.

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