Third conditional: Past unreal situations

Grammar / B1 Grammar lessons and exercises / Third conditional: Past unreal situations / Page 2
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  • Exercises: 1 2 3

    Third conditional: Past unreal situations

    Exercise 2

    Choose the correct form to make third conditional sentences.
    1 You ______ me if you had gone to the party. Choose TWO correct options
    A.
    B.
    C.
    2 What would you have done if I ______?
    A.
    B.
    C.
    3 They ______ him if I ______ them the money.
    A.
    B.
    C.
    4 If I had stayed in university, I ______ much better jobs.
    A.
    B.
    C.
    5 If I ______ so hard all my life, I might have spent more time with my kids.
    A.
    B.
    C.
    6 If I had been feeling well, I ______ the steak. Choose TWO correct options
    A.
    B.
    C.
    7 If I'd known you were going, I  ______ with you.
    A.
    B.
    C.
    8 I ______ the exam even if I had studied harder.
    A.
    B.
    C.
    9 If I ______ you the truth, you wouldn't have believed me.
    A.
    B.
    C.
    10 He ______ the accident if he hadn't drunk.
    A.
    B.
    C.

     

    Exercises: 1 2 3

  • Third conditional: Grammar Chart

    Third conditional grammar chart explaining sentence structure for past hypothetical situations with examples like "If you had come to class, you would have passed the exam."

    Download full-size image from Pinterest

    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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