Third Conditional. Hi and welcome to the third conditional.
Let's get started
There are 3 things to remember about the third conditional.
One. Third conditional sentences describe the past.
Two. They describe something that didn't happen.
Three. They often express a feeling of regret.
So let's see some examples.
If I'd studied harder at school, I would have gone to university.
I didn't study very hard at school and I didn't go to university.
We wouldn't have got lost if you hadn't given me the wrong directions.
She wasn't given the correct directions and she didn't find her way.
She might have finished the exam if she'd had more time.
She didn't finish the exam and she didn't have more time.
So what's the form. It's if plus the past perfect and would plus have plus the past participle.
The clauses can change order and mean the same. So here we start with the "if" clause
If i'd gone to the party, I would have seen my best friend.
And here we start with the resulting clause.
I would have seen my best friend if I had gone to the party.
Notice, no comma.
Other modals can be used instead of would, such as can, could, may or might.
If we hadn't worked so hard we could have missed the deadline.
So now, it's quiz time.
Let's see how much you remember.
The third conditional is used to describe events in the future, the present or the past?
The past.
The third conditional is used to talk about events that happened or didn't happen?
Didn't happen, that's right.
The third conditional is often used to express which emotion?
Regret, that's right.
And how do we make the third conditional?
If plus past perfect and would plus have plus the past participle.
So Congratulations
You now know how to use the third conditional!
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