Second, Third, Mixed Conditionals

🤔When do we use it?

We use the second conditional to talk about unreal, impossible or imaginary situations.
 

🤔How do we form it?

The structure of the second conditional has two parts: the conditional and the result. We can use these two parts in any order (Condition –> Result, or Result –> Condition)
 

Condition: IF + PAST SIMPLE

Result: WOULD + INFINITIVE

Examples of the Second Conditional

• If I won the lottery, I would visit my friend in Australia.
   
• If I were a giraffe, I would have a very long neck.
   
• What would you do if you had more money?
   
• If I spoke English more frequently, I would be more fluent.
   
• I'd feel better if I didn't have a cold. 
   
• I'd go to the beach if it wasn't raining.
   
• If I were you, I'd take the job!

🤔When do we use it?

We use the third conditional to talk about something that did not happen in the past.
 

🤔How do we form it?

The structure of the third conditional has two parts: the conditional and the result. We can use these two parts in any order (Condition –> Result, or Result –> Condition)

Condition: IF + PAST PERFECT

Result: WOULD HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE
 

Examples of the Third Conditional

• If I had been tall as a child, I would have played basketball.
   
• If I had studied harder, I would have passed the exam.
   
• I would have gone to the beach yesterday if it hadn't rained.
   
• If I had seen her, I would have said hello.
   
• What would you have done if it had rained at the weekend?
   
• I would have been angry if we had lost the game.
   
• She would have come to class if she hadn't been busy.

🤔When do we use it?

We use the mixed conditional to talk about the probable result in the present of something that did not happen in the past.
 

🤔How do we form it?

The structure of the mixed conditional has two parts: the same condition of the third conditional and the same result of the second conditional. We can use these two parts in any order (Condition –> Result, or Result –> Condition)
 

Condition: IF + PAST PERFECT

Result: WOULD + INFINITIVE

Examples of the Mixed Conditional

Let’s look at some of the same examples we used with the third conditional, and talk about their possible results in the present:

• If I had been tall as a child, I would be better at basketball now.
   
• If I had studied harder,  I would have a degree now.
   
• If I had gone to the beach yesterday, I would be tanned.
   
• If I had seen her, I would be happy.
   
• If we had lost the game, we wouldn't be top of the league.
   
• If he had got the job, he would be living in America now.