2. If Paco had known about the bad weather conditions, he would have changed his tour of the U.S.A.
Third type conditional sentences are easily recognizable: they cannot be fulfilled because they refer to past actions. Let's study them.Don't worry: we'll study this kind of conditional, as well as type 1 and 2 in the next unit -unit 6. But here you have some work on the structure and meaning of conditionals.
Important
He would not have had an accident if he had driven more slowly.
By DYFL. Creative Commons.
First of all, there are 3 types of conditional sentences:- Type 1: If the weather is good tomorrow, we will go for a picnic in the country.- Type 2: If I won the lottery, I would buy a big house in Miami.- Type 3: If the weather had been good yesterday, we would have gone for a picnic in the country.Type 1 conditional sentences are possible to fulfill:
- She will do the shopping with us if she gets home early. (type 1)(it's possible that she will get home early)
Type 2 conditionals are more hypothetical, less probable:
- If I were the president, I'd reduce taxes. (type 2) (it's not very probable that I will be president)
- If he studied hard, he would pass all his exams easily. (type 2)(but he doesn't want to study)
However, conditional sentences type 3 are impossible. Their condition can't be fulfilled because they refer to the past. It is used to express a hypothetical result to a past given situation:
- He would have arrived in time if he had left his house earlier.(he didn't leave his house earlier, so he didn't arrive on time)
- If they had come to Chicago, they would have seen the Lake Michigan.(they didn't come to Chicago, so they didn't see Lake Michigan)
Solved exercise
A conditional sentence is made up of two parts: a main clause and the 'if' clause. The 'if' clause states de condition and the main clause its consequence in the case that condition happens.
- If you had studied more, you would have passed.
- If you had asked your teacher for help, he would have helped you.
- If it had not started to rain, we would have gone to visit the exhibition.
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Present |
Present / Future |
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Simple Past |
Conditional would |
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Self-assessment activity|
a. we would have played football in the park.
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b. we would play football in the park.
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a. they would have arrive on time.
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b. they would have arrived on time.
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a. he would have understood the tourists.
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b. he would understand the tourists.
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a. a salad for dinner would have prepared.
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b. we would have prepared a salad for dinner.
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Curiosity
Federal law (5 U.S.C. 6103) establishes the following public holidays for Federal employees. Please note that most Federal employees work on a Monday through Friday schedule. For these employees, when a holiday falls on a nonworkday -- Saturday or Sunday -- the holiday usually is observed on Monday (if the holiday falls on Sunday) or Friday (if the holiday falls on Saturday).
Displays of fireworks, such as these over the Washington Monument, take place nationwide.
By SSGT. LONO KOLLARS. Public domain
| Thursday, January 1 | New Year’s Day |
| Monday, January 19 | Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. |
| Monday, February 16 | Washington’s Birthday |
| Monday, May 25 | Memorial Day |
| Friday, July 3 | Independence Day |
| Monday, September 7 | Labor Day |
| Monday, October 12 | Columbus Day |
| Wednesday, November 11 | Veterans Day |
| Thursday, November 26 | Thanksgiving Day |
| Friday, December 25 | Christmas Day |
Taken from USA Government.
Further knowledge
Click here to learn about uses and formation of conditionals.
The structure of a third conditional sentence.