This document explains the third conditional and how to use it. The third conditional is used to talk about hypothetical situations in the past. It is formed using the past perfect tense (had + past participle) in the if-clause and would have + past participle in the main clause. Examples are provided to show how to transform sentences into the third conditional by using if + past perfect in the if-clause to talk about something that didn't happen in the past.

1. Third Conditional
Going BACK in TIME to the PAST
What would you have
done differently?

2. When do we use the 3rd conditional?
Yesterday
When we want to
imagine doing or
changing something
in the past
·yesterday
3rd Conditional ·last week
·last year
·when I was a child

3. How do we make the 3rd conditional?
If... + HAD + PARTICIPLE, + WOULD have + PARTICIPLE
COULD
MIGHT
I I
you been
,
You been
he would have come
If He
She
had come
found
she could found
hadn't it might done
It done
We we seen
seen
They they

4. Fill in the gaps to make the 3rd conditional
If I ___ ____ alive 2000 years ago,
I _____ ____ ____ a Roman
If + PAST PERFECT , + WOULD HAVE + PARTICIPLE

5. If I had been alive 2000 years ago,
I would have been a Roman

6. If / thief / run faster /
police / not catch / him
If the thief had run faster, the police
wouldn't have caught him.

7. If / Titanic / miss/ Iceberg /
It / not sink
If the Titanic had missed the
iceberg, it wouldn't have sunk.

8. Going BACK in TIME to the PAST
The 3 Conditional
rd
Practise
Sentence transformation
Make sentences for the
pictures in the 3 rd
conditional

9. The Titanic hit an iceberg and
sank

10. If the Titanic hadn’t hit an
iceberg, it wouldn’t have sunk

11. He stayed in the sun too long
yesterday and got sunburnt

12. If he hadn’t stayed in the sun
too long yesterday, he
wouldn’t have got sunburnt

13. He arrived late and missed the
train

14. If he hadn’t arrived late, he
wouldn’t have missed the
train

15. She forgot her umbrella and
got wet

16. If she hadn’t forgotten her
umbrella, she wouldn’t have
got wet

17. He was angry so he punched
his laptop
EFL SMARTblog http://efllecturer.blogspot.com/

18. If he hadn’t been angry, he
wouldn’t have punched his
laptop

19. She drank so much coffee
yesterday, she couldn’t sleep
last night

20. If she hadn’t drunk so much
coffee yesterday, she would
have been able to sleep last
night

21. She got a virus on her laptop
because she didn’t install an
antivirus

22. If she had installed an
antivirus on her laptop, she
wouldn’t have got a virus

23. He drank so much last night,
he had a hangover when he
woke up

24. If he hadn’t drunk so much
last night, he wouldn’t have
had a hangover when he woke
up

25. Bart didn’t do his homework
so he had to stay late in
school yesterday

26. If Bart had done the homework,
he wouldn’t have had to stay
late in school yesterday

27. They worked so hard they
passed their exams

28. If they hadn’t worked so hard,
they wouldn’t have passed
their exams

29. He bought a lottery ticket and
won

30. If he hadn’t bought a lottery
ticket, he wouldn’t have won

31. He was texting on the phone
and had an accident

32. If he hadn’t been texting on
the phone, he wouldn’t have
had an accident

33. She was working so hard that
she fell asleep

34. If she hadn’t been working so
hard, she wouldn’t have fallen
asleep

35. He was lifting the box when
he hurt his back

36. If he hadn’t been lifting the
box, he wouldn’t have hurt his
back

37. He wasn’t looking where he
was going and he hit the tree

38. If he had been looking where
he was going, he wouldn’t
have hit the tree

39. This presentation was taken and
adapted from
EFL SMARTblog http://efllecturer.blogspot.com/