XI; Type 3

 Type 3 conditional sentences, are truly hypothetical or unreal. In these sentences, the time is past, and the situation is contrary to reality. The facts they are based on are the opposite of what is expressed.

In a Type 3 conditional sentence, the tense in the ‘if’ clause is the past perfect, and the tense in the main clause is the perfect conditional

The structure is : if + past perfect, would/should/could/might + have + past participle.

As in all conditional sentences, the order of the clauses is not fixed. You may have to adjust pronouns and punctuation marks when changing clause order, but the meaning is the same.

Example

– if it had rained, you would have gotten wet.

– You would have gotten wet if it had rained.

– You would have passed your exam if you had worked harder.

– If you had worked harder, you would have passed your exam.

– I would have believed you if you hadn’t lied to me before.

– If you hadn’t lied to me before, I would have believed you.

Perfect conditional – form

The perfect conditional of any verb is composed of two elements: would + the perfect infinitive of the main verb

(=have + past participle)

Type 3 conditional sentences, are truly hypothetical or unreal, because it is now too late for the condition or its result to exist. There is always an unspoken “but…” phrase:

Example :

– If I had worked harder I would have passed the exam

(but I didn’t work hard, and I didn’t pass the exam).

– If I’d known you were coming I’d have baked a cake

(but I didn’t know, and I haven’t baked a cake).

Both would and had can be contracted to ‘d, which can be confusing. Remember that you NEVER use would in the IF-clause, so in the example above, “If I’d known” must be “If Ihad known“, and “I’d have baked” must be “I would have baked..”

Examples:

– If I’d known you were in hospital, I would have visited you

– I would have bought you a present if I’d known it was your birthday.

– If they’d had a better goalkeeper they wouldn’t have lost the game.

If you had told me you were on the Internet, I’d have sent you an e-mail.

– Would you have bought an elephant if you’d known how much they eat?