Third Conditional Mastery

The Third Conditional is a grammatical structure in English used to talk about...

• unreal situations in the past and their hypothetical results
• imaginary scenarios in the future and their certain outcomes
• factual events in the present and their actual consequences
• real situations in the present and their definite results

The structure of the Third Conditional is...

• If + past simple, would + have + past participle
• If + past perfect, would + have + past participle
• If + present perfect, would + have + past participle
• If + past perfect, would + past perfect

Similar to the Second Conditional, contractions are commonly used in the Third Conditional. For example:

• "I'll have"

• "I've have"

• "I'm have"

• "I'd have"

What other use can we have in the third conditional?

• Expressing regret about a past situation and its outcome
• Expressing satisfaction with a past outcome
• Describing a current situation
• Predicting a future outcome

Complete the following sentence using the third conditional with the word given:
If I had studied harder, I _____________(pass) the exam.

Answer explanation

The correct form for the Third Conditional is "had studied" in the if-clause and "would have passed" in the main clause.

Complete the following sentence using the third conditional with the word given:
If she_____ (know) about the traffic, she wouldn't have been late.

Answer explanation

The correct form for the Third Conditional is "had known" in the if-clause and "wouldn't have been" in the main clause.

Complete the following sentence using the third conditional and the word given:
If you had told me, I __________ (help) you with the project.

Answer explanation

The correct form for the Third Conditional is "had told me" in the if-clause and "would have helped" in the main clause.

Complete the following sentence using the third conditional and the word given:

If we _________(arrive) on time, we would have gotten the early bird discount.

Answer explanation

The correct form for the Third Conditional is "had arrived" in the if-clause and "would have gotten" in the main clause.