Dr. Grammar says:
“What’s wrong with this sentence? If had been born in Australia, my life will be very different.”
EXPLANATION:
Last verb tense lesson we looked at the second conditional. Now, we’re moving onto the third conditional.
How do we make it?
Full conditional sentences have two clauses, the condition and the result (or the main clause). The condition is made using an if clause, the result is made using would.
Positive
If + subject + past perfect (+ object, adjunct etc), subject + would + present perfect (+ object, adjunct etc)
e.g. If it had rained, you would have taken a taxi.
If I had finished my homework, I would have gotten a good score in the test yesterday.
If they had won the World Cup, it would have been the first time ever.
Negative
Just follow the rules for forming past perfect or present perfect into a negative.
e.g. If it hadn’t rained, you wouldn’t have taken a taxi.
If I hadn’t finished my homework, I wouldn’t have gotten a good score in the test yesterday.
If they had won the World Cup, it would not have been the first time ever.
Question
If + subject + past perfect (+ object, adjunct etc), would + subject + present perfect (+ object, adjunct etc)
e.g. If it had rained, would you have taken a taxi?
If I had finished my homework, would I have gotten a good score in the test yesterday?
If they had won the World Cup, would it have been the first time ever?
You can also change the order of these clauses, but take away the comma:
I would have taken a taxi if it had rained.
I would not have gotten a good score in the test yesterday if I hadn’t finished my homework.
Would it have been the first time ever if they had won the World Cup?
When do we use the third conditional?
We use the third conditional to talk about something in the past which could have happened but didn’t. It is an unreal possibility in the past. We often (but not always) use it to express regret or disappointment about the past.
For example:
You watched your team play football and they lost. It was the final game of the championship. Because they lost they came second.
If they had won the match, they would have won the championship.
There was a fire in a tall building. There was no fire alarm so the firemen could not save the building; it burnt down to the ground.
If there had been a fire alarm, the building would not have burnt down to the ground.
I am a woman. I didn’t fight in the war.
If I had been born a man, I would have fought in the war.
Can we use other words in place of ‘would’?
We often use ‘could’ in place of ‘would’ to show a possibility if the condition had been satisfied.
If I had had more money when I was a student, I would have gone around the world (= I would definitely have gone around the world).
If I had had more money when I was a student, I could have gone around the world (= I would have had the ability to go around the world).
Can we use other tenses?
If the condition is in the past, but the result is in the present, we use the following structure:
If + subject + past perfect (+ object, adjunct etc), subject + would + V1 (+ object, adjunct etc)
e.g. If I had spent more time with her, we would still be married now.
This form is sometimes called a mixed conditional.
How can we learn to use these tenses?
By doing the exercises below!
So…
If I had been born in Australia, my life will be very different. X
If I had been born in Australia, my life would have been very different. √
If I had been born in Australia, my life would be very different. √
In the first correct sentence above, I am thinking back over my life, so I use would and present perfect.
In the second correct sentence, I am talking about my life today, so I use would and V1.
EXERCISE:
Use the third conditional to make sentences for the three situations below:
1. I was a good footballer when I was young. I was thinking about being a professional footballer. Then I broke my leg.
If I hadn’t broken…
2. I wanted to go to university. However, my parents didn’t have much money, so I didn’t go to university.
If my parents…
3. I was ready for the exam. But I had the flu, so I didn’t do well.
If I …
4. I didn’t buy shares in Google, so I’m not rich now.
If I…
Answers:
There is not one right answer here, so look at a sample for help, but use the grammar rules to check whether you have made any mistakes.
1. If I hadn’t broken my leg, I could have been a professional footballer.
2. If my parents had had more money, I would/could have gone to university.
3. If I hadn’t had the flu, I would have passed the exam.
4. If I had bought shares in Google, I would be rich now.
FURTHER PRACTICE:
Find a friend. Use third conditionals to talk about the following situations. Remember to give reasons.
1. In 1911 the Titanic sank in the Atlantic Ocean. Rose chose to stay on the Titanic with her lover. What would you have done if you had been on the Titanic?
2. In 2004 there was a tsunami wave in South East Asia. What would you have done, if you had been at the beach that day?
3. Romeo thought that his lover, Juliet, had died. He decided to kill himself rather than live without Juliet. What would you have done if you had been Romeo?
Think about some other situations in the past where people made difficult decisions. What would you have done if it had been you?
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CÂU ĐIỀU KIỆN LOẠI III I. Cách thành lập: Câu điều kiện có hai mệnh đề, mệnh đề điều kiện và mệnh đề kết quả (hay còn gọi là mệnh đề chính). Ở câu điều kiện loại III, mệnh đề điều kiện được thành lập với if đứng đầu câu và thì quá khứ hoàn thành, còn mệnh đề kết quả được thành lập với would/ could + have + past participle. II. Cách sử dụng: Ta sử dụng câu điều kiện loại III để nói về điều gì đó lẽ ra đã diễn ra trong quá khứ nhưng đã không xảy ra. Nói cách khác, đây là một khả năng không có thật ở quá khứ. Thường thì câu điều kiện loại III thể hiện sự nuối tiếc một điều gì đó hoặc diễn đạt một ước muốn thay đổi điều gì đó trong quá khứ. III. Lưu ý: • Ta cũng có thể dùng “could” thay cho “would” để cho thấy một khả năng có thể xảy ra một khi điều kiện được đáp ứng. (xem ví dụ) • Ngoài ra, nếu điều kiện ở quá khứ nhưng kết quả lại ở hiện tại, ta dùng thì quá khứ hoàn thành cho mệnh đề điều kiện và would + V1 cho mệnh đề kết quả. Cấu trúc này được gọi là điều kiện kết hợp. |
(To be continued)
This material is provided by the Australian Centre for Education and Training (ACET).
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