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Second Third and Mixed Conditionals B2 Plus

The document explains the use of second, third, and mixed conditional sentences in English grammar. Second conditionals express less certain, imaginary situations, while third conditionals discuss hypothetical past actions that did not occur. Mixed conditionals combine elements of both to illustrate hypothetical past actions with present consequences or hypothetical present situations with past consequences.

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17 views2 pages

Second Third and Mixed Conditionals B2 Plus

The document explains the use of second, third, and mixed conditional sentences in English grammar. Second conditionals express less certain, imaginary situations, while third conditionals discuss hypothetical past actions that did not occur. Mixed conditionals combine elements of both to illustrate hypothetical past actions with present consequences or hypothetical present situations with past consequences.

Uploaded by

Lana
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Second conditional

We use second conditional sentences when we are less certain of


potential consequences or to talk about imaginary or 'unreal'
situations. In these situations, we consider the action more difficult
to achieve and so less likely to happen. The usual structure is:

If + Past Simple, would/could/might + main verb


If you took more risks, you might make more money.
She wouldn't be so successful if she didn't work so hard.

Third conditional
We use third conditional sentences to talk about hypothetical
past actions or situations. In these sentences, we are speculating
about past possible actions or situations that didn't happen.
The usual structure is:

If + Past Perfect, would/could/might have + past participle


If he had listened to me, he could have had higher returns on his
investment.
Markowitz wouldn't have received a Nobel Prize if he hadn't
contributed to economic thinking.

Mixed conditionals

i Hypothetical past actions with present consequences


We can use mixed conditional sentences, combining parts of
the second and third conditional, to talk about hypothetical
past actions or situations and their imaginary present
consequences.
If he hadn't taken some calculated risks, he wouldn't be a
billionaire today.
(But he did take some calculated risks and he is a billionaire
today.)
She wouldn't have her own company now if she hadn't
met that investor.
(But she does have her own company now because she met that
investor.)

The usual structure of this type of mixed conditional sentence is:

If + Past Perfect, would/could/might + infinitive


+
[3rd conditional] [2nd conditional]

In mixed conditionals, like all conditional sentences, the two


clauses can appear in either order.

ii Hypothetical present situations or states with past


consequences
We can also use mixed conditional sentences to talk
about hypothetical present situations or states and their
imaginary past consequences.
If it weren't so difficult to find investors in the current economic
climate, we would have set up our business by now.
(But it is difficult to find investors and we haven't set up our
business.)
He wouldn't have become an
accountant if he weren't (wasn't) so good at maths.
(But he is very good at maths and he did become an
accountant.)

The usual structure of this type of mixed conditional sentence is:

If + Past Simple, would/could/might + past participle


+
[2nd conditional] [3rd conditional]

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