Showing posts with label conditionals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label conditionals. Show all posts
An Upper-Intermediate lesson on mixed conditionals
A conditional consist of two clauses: the
condition or if-clause and the main or result clause. Depending on the meaning
we try to convey we have many different conditionals at our exposal to express
ourselves clearly.
Mixed
conditionals are those unreal conditional sentences whose time in the
if-clause is different than the time in the main-clause.
The
most common mixed conditional is a condition in the past with a result in the
present.
Example: If I had
been a
singer, I would be rich!
The
If clause is in the 3rd conditional, so it’s an unreal past, and ‘would be’
(2nd conditional) is an unreal present.
Past
Condition / Present Result
The first one has a condition in the past and a present result. We use
it to express that if something had been different in the past there would be a
present result.
The
structure is: If + past perfect, would (could, might)
+ infinitive.
Present
Condition / Past Result
We use it to express that due to certain present conditions something
already happened in the past.
The structure is: If
+ past simple, would (could, might) have + past participle.
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