Third conditional: impossible

9.4
conditions
1 We form the third conditional using if + Past Perfect, would + have
+ verb.
Positive
If I’d (had) known you were ill, I’d (would) have come to visit.
They’d (would) have taken photos if they’d (had) had a camera.

Negative
If I hadn’t worn a seatbelt, I would have been injured.
We wouldn’t have rung you if we’d known you were asleep.

Question

What would you have done if you’d seen the burglar?

If you’d gone to university, what would you have studied?

© Oxford University Press

 Third conditional: impossible
9.4
conditions
2 We use the third conditional to express an impossible or unreal
situation in the past and its probable result.

If I hadn’t gone to Argentina, I wouldn’t have met Juan.

If we’d taken the plane, we’d have arrived by now.

This didn’t happen = unreal situation.

Make the sentences.

1 If/I/not/go skiing/not break my leg
If I hadn’t gone skiing, I wouldn’t have broken my leg.
2 If/I/visit/Hawaii/I/try surfing
If I’d visited Hawaii, I’d have tried surfing.

© Oxford University Press