18.

4 third conditional
The third conditional is the most difficult for most people, because you have to use the past
perfect, would have and the past participle.

[00:00:07] So if you're not comfortable with these things, go back much earlier in the course and
review! Anyways, let's start by looking at the uses for the third conditional.

[00:00:16] The third conditional has two main uses.

[00:00:19] First to talk about regrets, things you don't feel good about from the past and would
like to have changed in the past.

[00:00:27] And second, to discuss situations that didn't happen, but imagine the results of those
situations in the past, and what could have happened.

[00:00:36] The most important difference between the third conditional and conditionals zero,
one and two, is that the third conditional is only talking about the past.Everything is in the past
for the third conditional.

[00:00:48] The second conditional also talks about impossible things. But only in the present or
near future. The first conditional is only for the future, and the zero conditional talks about
things that just never change.

[00:01:00] We'll look at some examples to really help you understand how to use the third
conditional, but first we need the structure.

[00:01:06] How to form the third conditional.

[00:01:08] First, we have the if clause with the past perfect. This is also the dependent clause.

[00:01:14] Second we have the subject plus would have or could have, and then the past
participle of our main verb. This is the independent clause. So basically it is subject plus would
have plus the past participle. The really nice thing about the independent clause, is that you
conjugate nothing! Would and could stay the same, have stays the same, and you only need to
know the past participle for the main verb you want to use. We're ready for some examples
now. After you hear the example pause the video and try to explain in your own words, why
we're using the third conditional before I explain it.

[00:00:02] If I had studied grammar more, I would have gotten a better grade on the test.

[00:00:08] The If part of the sentence, the if clause, tells us what we did not do. I did not study
grammar as much as I should have. It is my regret. So here the third conditional expresses regret
,remorse. But if I did study more, if I had studied more, I would have gotten a better grade. The
independent clause, the part of the sentence that starts with would, tells us the imaginary
outcome of the action that didn't happen. I'm expressing my regret and what could have
happened if I acted differently.

[00:00:38] Remember in the third conditional, nothing is real. Nothing actually happened. That's
why we very often use it to express our regrets, our sadness or anger about things we or
someone else didn't do.

[00:00:51] She would have arrived to the airport on time if you had called her to wake her up.

[00:00:57] Okay. So first I change the order of the sentence. Remember we can do this with any
conditional sentence. But when the if clause comes second, we don't need the comma. We can
also say, if you had called her to wake her up, she would have arrived to the airport on time.

[00:01:14] So this woman did not arrive to the airport on time. But why? This other person was
supposed to call her to wake her up, but they didn't. So this is an unreal imaginary situation that
didn't happen. That's the if clause in this sentence, making the phone call. Then we imagine
what might have happened if that phone call were made. She would have arrived on time, but
that didn't happen. Because the phone call never happened.

[00:01:40] If I hadn't committed the crime, I wouldn't have been sent to jail.

[00:01:45] This sounds like regret. I feel bad about something I did in the past. What did I do? I
committed the crime and because of that I was sent to jail, but I'm imagining what could have
happened if I never committed the crime. If I didn't commit the crime, I would not be in jail now,
but that's not reality. The truth is that I committed the crime and now sit in jail. This is
something I feel bad about, wish I could change, but I can't. I am thinking about how my life
would be different in the past if I did not do something.

[00:02:18] Asking questions.

[00:02:19] The second conditional is also great for asking hypothetical questions related to the
present and future. The questions that are used to get someone's opinion. Like, if you were me
what would you do? Or understand them better.

[00:02:32] The third conditional is also used for hypothetical questions. Like, if you had had the
money at the time, would you have gone on the trip with us? When responding to these
questions, you just need to respond with the independent clause, but you can also repeat the if
clause, the dependent clause, if you want to. It's especially nice to repeat it if you need extra
time to think.

[00:02:54] Would you have chased the thief if you had witnessed the crime?

[00:02:57] No definitely wouldn't have!

[00:02:59] Or, Hmm. Would I have chased the thief if I had witnessed the crime? Well, I think I
would have.
[00:03:07] This is what hypothetical questions are for, asking about things that aren't real,
usually to get someone's opinion. And when discussing the past, it's common to ask these
hypothetical questions related to history and past events.