BiteSize English Grammar: The Third Conditional
In this edition of BiteSize English Grammar, we'll be looking at how we can use the Third Conditional
In this week’s BiteSize Conditionals series, we will explore how we can use the Third Conditional (sometimes called the Unreal Past Conditional or Type 3 Conditional.)
Before we dive into the uses of this conditional, let’s start with what happened to me today.
During the week, I typically wake up at 6:30am, giving myself enough time for a small breakfast and a cup of strong coffee. To get to work on time, I take the 7.45am train. However, this morning was a disaster! I forgot to set my alarm, woke up at 7:15, and had to rush out the door without breakfast or my much-needed coffee. I ran to the station, but I didn’t run fast enough - I missed the 7:45 train and had to wait for the next one. When I finally arrived to the office, I was 10 minutes late for the morning meeting. And without my morning coffee, I couldn’t concentrate on anything my boss was saying in the meeting.
Not the best morning ever.
Now, let’s explore how we can use the Third Conditional to imagine that my morning was completely different.
Structure:
- If + past perfect, would + have + 3rd verb form.
If I’d set my alarm last night, I wouldn’t have woken up late
If I‘d not woken up late, I wouldn’t have missed the 7:45 train
If I’d had my morning coffee, I would’ve been focused during the meeting
As you can see from the above examples, we use the Third Conditional to imagine an impossible or unreal past. I didn’t set my alarm, so I woke up late; I woke up late, so I missed the 7:45 train; I didn’t have my coffee, so I wasn’t focused during the meeting in the morning. This conditional is often used to talk about things that we regret.
Using different modal verbs instead of “would” in the result clause
As we saw with the other conditionals, we can use different modal verbs in the result to express different degrees of certainty or possibility.
Let’s look at some examples:
- If I hadn’t woken up late, I might not have missed the 7:45 train. (Using might suggests it wasn’t certain I’d catch the 7:45 train)
- If I had had my morning coffee, I could have focused better during the meeting. (Using could shows I would have had the ability to focus better in the meeting.)
Simple right? Okay, maybe not, but the most important thing to remember about this conditional - whenever you are imagining a different past action or situation than what really happened and its imagined result, then the Third Conditional is a fantastic way to talk about it.