MIXED CONDITIONALS

MIXED CONDITIONALS

1. Sometimes unreal conditional sentences are mixed. This means that the time in the if-clause is not the same as the time in the result.

   • PAST-PRESENT
     • *If I had won the lottery, I would be rich. *If she had been born in the United States, she wouldn't need a visa to work here
   • PAST-FUTURE
     • *If she had signed up for the ski trip last week, she would be joining us tomorrow. *If Darren hadn't wasted his Christmas bonus gambling in Las Vegas, he would go to Mexico with us next month.
   • PRESENT-PAST
     • *If I were rich, I would have bought that Ferrari we saw yesterday. *If Sam spoke Russian, he would have translated the letter for you.
   • PRESENT-FUTURE
     • *If I didn't have so much vacation time, I wouldn't go with you on the cruise to Alaska next week. *If Cindy were more creative, the company would send her to New York to work on the new advertising campaign.
   • FUTURE-PAST
     • *If I weren't going on my business trip next week, I would have accepted that new assignment at work. *If my parents weren't coming this weekend, I would have planned a nice trip just for the two of us to Napa Valley.
   • FUTURE-PRESENT
     • *If I were going to that concert tonight, I would be very excited. *If Seb didn't come with us to the desert, everyone would be very disappointed.