The Third Conditional

Hello English learners. Welcome to a new lesson. We will learn about the third conditional.

We use the third conditional to talk about unreal past events.

I could have got into that dress if I hadn’t eaten so much. (but I did eat too much, so I couldn’t get into that dress)
If he had realised the traffic light was red, he would have stopped. (but it’s too late now)
You wouldn’t have missed the train if you had run. (but he didn’t run, so he missed the train)

The structure of the third conditional is:

If + Past Perfect -would/could/might have + past participle

If I had known him earlier, I would have warned him.
If we hadn’t been busy last night, we could have joined you for dinner.
If Martin had written that email, he might have used more courteous phrases.

The “if clause” doesn’t necessarily have to be in the first place.

We could have saved more money if we had spent it more reasonably.
Sandra could have passed out if she hadn’t had a glass of water.

The difference between the second and the third conditionals

Both the second and third conditionals express unreal situations and events. We use the second conditional to talk about an unreal situation in the present and imagine its results in the present or future. However, the third conditional describes a situation that didn’t exist or didn’t happen in the past.

If you learned more, you could pass that exam. (he still has a chance to pass the exam)
If you had learned more, you could have passed that exam. (it’s all in the past; we can only imagine what would have happened)

Download the lesson about the third conditional and the exercise here

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