Third Conditional
✅ Uso: Se usa para hablar de situaciones hipotéticas en el pasado que no ocurrieron y expresar arrepentimiento.
✅ Estructura:
👉 If + pasado perfecto, would + have + participio
👉 Con modales: If + pasado perfecto, could/might/should + have + participio
If you had studied, you would have passed the exam. (Si hubieras estudiado, habrías aprobado el examen.)
If she had left earlier, she could have caught the train. (Si hubiera salido antes, podría haber cogido el tren.)
Alternativas a "if":
Unless → I wouldn’t have missed the flight unless I had overslept. (No habría perdido el vuelo a menos que me hubiera quedado dormido.)
Even if → Even if I had known, I wouldn’t have told you. (Aunque lo hubiera sabido, no te lo habría dicho.)
Verbos modales en el Third Conditional:
If you had called me, I would have helped you. (Certeza)
If she had trained more, she could have won the race. (Posibilidad)
If we had taken the other route, we might have arrived earlier. (Menor certeza)
If they had listened, they should have avoided the problem. (Consejo / crítica)
Structure: If + past perfect, would/could/might/should + have + past participle
El tercer condicional hace referencia a situaciones imposibles o que no se pueden llevar a cabo por formar parte del pasado.
If + Past Perfect Simple en la condición y would have + participio en el resultado.
If we had taken the car, we would have been stuck in a traffic jam. (=Si hubiéramos cogido el coche, habríamos estado retenidos en un atasco.)
WITH MODAL VERBS
Structure: If + past perfect, would/could/might/should + have + past participle
✅ Modals that work: would have, could have, might have, should have
🚫 Will have, shall have, must have are incorrect in third conditionals.
Examples:
If you had studied, you would have passed. (Certain result)
If she had left earlier, she could have caught the train. (Possibility)
If I had known, I might have helped you. (Less certainty)
If they had listened, they should have avoided the problem. (Obligation/advice)
If you had exceeded the speed limit, you could / might have had an accident. (=Si hubieras sobrepasado el límite de velocidad, podrías haber tenido un accidente.)
EXERCISES
IF012 - If Clauses - Type 3 Intermediate
IF010 - Type 3 Conditional Clauses Intermediate
IF009 - Type 3 Conditional Clauses Intermediate