Conditionals: third and mixed

Do you know how to use third and mixed conditionals? Enhance your knowledge with a lesson given below and the grammar explanation to guide you better.

Look at these examples to see how third and mixed conditionals are used:

• We would have gone to the beach if it hadn't rained all day.

• If we'd studied harder in school, I might be a doctor now.

• If he cared about the project, he wouldn't have missed the deadline.

Grammar explanation - Conditionals: third and mixed

Do you know how to use third and mixed conditionals?

Third conditionals and mixed conditionals

Conditionals describe the result of a specific condition. The if clause presents the condition (e.g., If I hadn't missed the train) and the main clause gives the result (e.g., I would have been on time). The order of the clauses doesn’t change the meaning.

• If I hadn't missed the train, I would have been on time.

• I would have been on time if I hadn't missed the train.

Conditional sentences are commonly categorized into different types.

1. Third conditional

The third conditional is used to imagine a different past. It describes a change in a past situation and what the outcome would have been.

• If I had checked the weather, I wouldn't have gotten soaked.

• They would have won the game if they had practiced more.

In third conditional sentences, the structure is typically: If + past perfect >> would have + past participle.

2. Mixed conditionals

We use mixed conditionals to imagine a past change with a result in the present, or a present change with a result in the past.

1. Past/Present: This sentence imagines how a change in the past affects the present.

If I had studied law, I would be a lawyer now.

The structure is: If + past perfect >> would + infinitive.

2. Present/Past: This sentence imagines how a different present situation would have changed the past.

• If she cared more, she would have helped me earlier.

And the structure is: If + past simple >> would have + past participle.

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