Look at these examples to see how third and mixed conditionals are used.
We would have walked to the top of the mountain if the weather hadn't been so bad.
If we'd moved to Scotland when I was a child, I would have a Scottish accent now.
If she was really my friend, she wouldn't have lied to me.
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
- Grammar test 1
Read the explanation to learn more.
Grammar explanation
Do you know how to use third and mixed conditionals?
Third conditionals and mixed conditionals
Conditionals describe the result of a certain condition. The if clause tells you the condition (If I hadn't been ill) and the main clause tells you the result (I would have gone to the party). The order of the clauses does not change the meaning.
If I hadn't been ill, I would have gone to the party.
I would have gone to the party if I hadn't been ill.
Conditional sentences are often divided into different types.
Third conditional
The third conditional is used to imagine a different past. We imagine a change in a past situation and the different result of that change.
If I had understood the instructions properly, I would have passed the exam.
We wouldn't have got lost if my phone hadn't run out of battery.
In third conditional sentences, the structure is usually: If + past perfect >> would have + past participle.
Mixed conditionals
We can use mixed conditionals when we imagine a past change with a result in the present or a present change with a result in the past.
1. Past/Present
Here's a sentence imagining how a change in a past situation would have a result in the present.
If I hadn't got the job in Tokyo, I wouldn't be with my current partner.
So the structure is: If + past perfect >> would + infinitive.
2. Present/Past
Here's a sentence imagining how a different situation in the present would mean that the past was different as well.
It's really important. If it wasn't, I wouldn't have called you on your holiday.
And the structure is: If + past simple >> would have + past participle.
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
- Grammar test 2
Hello
It's very interesting. I'm an old student and just now, i didn't understand the types of conditionals. Now with some practice, i think i could understand this type of conjugation. English isn't easy, but French language isn't either.
Thanks for these lessons
Hello dear teacher.
In conditional sentences, is it compulsory for real condition to have real result and an unreal condition to have unreal result?
I read one of your comment that reads "The whole conditional sentence is either about a real/possible/likely situation or an unreal/impossible/unlikely situation"
Is it that result should also be the same(real Or unreal)as the condition(real Or unreal)?
Please help me to understand this.
Thanks
Hello jassa,
Yes, that's correct. You cannot mix an unreal condition with a real result or vice-versa.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Thanks dear teacher.
Dear teacher and a real condition can have an unreal result?
No, you cannot mix real and unreal.
Thanks dear teacher.
Hello,
On the way to success, professional athletes must overcome multiple psychological barriers. One of them is a phenomenon called “choking.” It relates to seasoned sportsmen making rookie in-competition mistakes, the mistakes that would never have occurred if athletes were not under the immense pressure of expectations and public opinion.
Are both "would never occur" and "would never have occurred" possible in the last sentence?
Can it be a mixed conditional sentence if we imagine that a lot of such mistakes have already been made because of that pressure?
Thank you.
Hello Abu_Anu,
Yes, you can use either form here.
...would never have occurred... describes mistakes that have already happened in the past.
...would never occur... describes mistakes that happen in more general terms: past, present and future mistakes.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Teama
Hello dear teacher.My question is-
What is the difference between form(Would have+past participle)and third conditional?
We use the same structure(would have+past participle) in third conditional and i also read about this structure in section (past modals with perfect infinitives)
Thanks.