English grammar - Third conditional

Resource centre - English grammar - Third conditional

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Form

If + past perfect + would have + verb 3 (past participle)

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Meaning

1. We use third conditional to imagine a different past.
   • If I 'd done my homework, my teacher wouldn't have shouted at me.
     (In reality I didn't do my homework and my teacher shouted at me.)
   • She would have passed her exam if she had studied more.
     (In reality she didn't study enough and so she didn't pass her exam)

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Additional points

1. We can use other modal verbs in place of would.
   • If they'd come earlier, they could have got a seat.
2. Mixed conditional: If + past perfect + would + infinitive
   Sometimes we want to say that the result of an action is now.
   • Compare:
     If it hadn't rained, I would have gone to the beach.
     (In reality it rained in the past and I didn't go to the beach.)
     If it hadn't rained, I would be at the beach / would be sitting on the beach.
     (In reality, it rained in the past and I am not at the beach now.)

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Pronunciation

(See the phonemic chart for IPA symbols used below)

1. In connected speech the contraction and weak form of have is usually used:
   • If I'd known earlier, I would've done something: /wʊdəv/

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Teaching ideas for third conditional

How do you teach third conditional? Add your idea »

Houcine

After a reading or listening activity, I ask students to write down all the sentences starting with "if". I write one of the examples on the board:
If it hadn't rained, he'd have gone to the beach.
I elicit the form first and then ask concept questions:
Did it rain? Ss: "Yes"
Did he want to go to the beach? Ss: "Yes"
Did he go to the beach? Ss: "No"
Did he regret it? Ss: "Yes"
Point out the relationship between REGRETTING and the FORM. (NB: eliciting is better than explaining). Good luck.

Simone

I give each student a a slip of paper with a funny excuse for not handing in homework (my dog ate it, I was abducted by aliens, my dad forgot to do it, it flew out of the bus window, etc). Students are supposed to write a short note for the teacher using the third conditional, explaining why they did not bring their homework (If my dog hadn't eaten it... ) Next, students are encouraged to write another note with their own stupid excuses for missing a class.

Maureen

I use inventions. I ask the students what technology they use at home. I then ask them what would life be without these inventions. For example:
We wouldn't have been able to watch the situation in Iraq if the television had not been invented.
or a mixed conditional...
If the refrigerator had not been invented, we would not have been able to store ice cream at home.

Rick

I play the game "deal or no deal" (where they choose the boxes with money behind them) and at the end of the game imagine they are at home explaining what would have happened if they had chosen another box or continued to the end of the game, and ask what they would have won if they hadn't accepted or chosen the offer or another box, respectively.

Fayasal

I try to create some real contexts. For instance, by using different pictures...
Picture 1: A boy playing with his friends
Picture 2: The boy passing an exam
Picture 3: A teacher giving back exam papers
Picture 4: The boy holding his paper and appearing upset
Picture 5: The boy expressing his regret to his parents
The teacher focuses on the fifth picture by introducing the "if clause". He may ask students to imagine themselves in the boy's place. Let them discover the reason for using third conditional... "if I had revised, I would have passed the exam". Reinforce what has been learnt by giving some exercises.

Anonymous

I tell my students about the lost opportunities I had in my life. For example, when I was six, I attended a ballet school. But then my parents moved to another place, and I dropped my studies. If I had continued attending the ballet school, I would have become a ballerina. If I had become a ballerina, I might have worked at a theater. If I had worked at a theater, I wouldn't have become a teacher. After that I ask my students to tell each other about their lost opportunities.

Psicotika

I ask them to think what life was like 200 or 300 years ago, brainstorm some ideas like:

women didn't go to school
there was no internet
couples used to have a lot of kids
and so on..

Then, I ask them a question so they can relate to it. I ask "what would your life have been like if you had been born 200 years ago?" I answer as an example: If I had been born 200 years ago, I wouldn't have gone to the university. I would have had to stay home and blah, blah, blah. then ss can start askng and answering on their own. It can also be done with other countries, like "what would your life have been like if you had been born in China?"

You can play a video, to give them some ideas before.

Faith

Have one student leave the room, then decide as a class on an event. It can be very crazy, such as martians landing on earth or something more simple such as x and y getting married. The student then comes back and the rest of the class make third conditional sentences until he/she guesses what the event was. Let's say in the marriage scenario, example sentences could be If this had happened, I would have brought flowers. or If this had happened, I would have eaten cake. etc.

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