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Third Conditional

Made by: Sosa M. Monserrat.

Is used when we want to talk to something that didn´t happen in the past.

Is used when we want to imagine a diferent outcome.

Example:

A friend of mine came to visit me yesterday. It was a surprise! So when I opened my front door I said:

- If I´d known you were coming, I would have baked a cake!

Did I know she was coming? No

Did I bake a cake? No

So, I´m imagining a diferent result.

When we are talking about an imaginary past, we use:

If + subject + past perfect, subject + would have + past participle.

And you can also swap those round:

Subject + would have + past participle + if + subject + past perfect.

The third conditional is to talk about imaginary situations in the past.

Example no. 2:

MIke said:

- I was really late for work today. When I got to the station, it turned out the trains were cancelled. If I had known the trains were cancelled, I would have taken a bus.

And Mike´s last sentence is describing an imaginary situation. In really, Mike was late for work because he didn´t know the trains were cancelled, and he didn´t take a bus.

He uses the third conditional to imagine a different past situation when he says: - If I had known the trains were cancelled, I would have taken a bus. -

Are two parts on this sentence:

One part is made with "If plus past perfect": - If I had known the trains were cancelled.....

And the other part is made of "Subject plus would have plus a past participle": -.... I would have taken a bus.