Third conditional

Study the tenses in the third conditional sentence given below.

If I had been younger, I would have cried.

Third conditional sentences are used to talk about imaginary or hypothetical situations.

In the third conditional, we use a past perfect tense in the if-clause and would have + past participle in the main clause.

Exercise

Fill in each space with the proper form of the verb given in the brackets.

1. If I had listened, I …………………….. (understand)

2. If you had run, you ……………………… the bus. (catch)

3. If they …………………….. the money, they would have gone by plane. (have)

4. If you ……………………. (take) the tablets, your health would have improved.

5. If she had listened to my advice, she ………………………. (not land) herself in this mess.

Answers

1. If I had listened, I would have understood.

2. If you had run, you would have caught the bus.

3. If they had had the money, they would have gone by plane.

4. If you had taken the tablets, your health would have improved.

5. If she had listened to my advice, she would not have landed herself in this mess.