Saturday, May 21, 2011

G2R - the third conditional

In this Grammar2Remember, we're reviewing the third conditional. A couple of things to remember about this conditional: (a) It talks about the past. (b) Like the second conditional, it is unreal. It talks about something that didn't happen.


To make third conditional sentences, we need the past perfect or past perfect continuous in the if clause and a perfect modal (modal + have + past participle; e.g. would have eaten) in the result clause. We usually use this conditional to consider another option in the past (if things had been different).


like this:
1. If he had won more money in Atlantic City, he would have stayed there another week.
(This means he didn't win more money, so he didn't stay another week.)
2. If she'd had some extra time, she could have made dinner for everyone.
(This means she didn't have extra time, so she couldn't make dinner for everyone.)
3. If she hadn't gone to the party, her friend would have gotten angry.
(This means she went to the party, so her friend didn't get angry.)


your turn:
Think about something you've always wondered would have happened if things had been different. Here are some ideas to start you off:
1. If I had not moved to this country, ...
2. If I had gone to that party, ...
3. If the weather had been horrible last weekend, ...


Share your sentences with us here or on our Facebook page. Good luck!
(e.g. is a Latin abbreviation that means "for example".)


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