Conditionals - Third Conditionals

{D}Third Conditionals:

Nature: no possibility

These sentences show the condition of no possibility.

Time: Past (so we are talking about a situation that was not so in the past.)

If you had warned me, I would not have told your father about that party.(But you didn't, and I have).

Note:

In the if-clause we use the past perfect (had + past participle). We don't use 'would' or 'would have' in the if-clause.

The main clause has would + have + past participle.

STRUCTURE:

if + past perfect, ...would + have + past participle

Some examples:

*If I had had time, I would have gone to the football match.

*If I had known you were coming, I would have waited for you.

*If she had not been ill, she would have gone to the cinema.

*If she had studied, she would have passed the exam

*If I hadn't eaten so much, I wouldn't have felt sick

*If we had taken a taxi, we wouldn't have missed the plane

*She wouldn't have been tired if she had gone to bed earlier

*She would have become a teacher if she had gone to university

*He would have been on time for the interview if he had left the house at nine

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Correct  Use:

Correct : If I had asked him, he would have helped me.

Incorrect : If I would have asked him, he would have helped me.

Reason: In the if-clause we use the past perfect (had + past participle). We don't use 'would' or 'would have' in the if-clause.

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Correct : If you had spoken to my mother, she would have told you where I was.

Incorrect : If you had spoken to my mother, she would tell you where I was.

Reason: The main clause has would + have + past participle.

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