Third Conditional Conversation Questions
The third conditional is used to talk about hypothetical (or imaginary) situations in the past & the consequences of these situations.
- If I had studied hard, I would have passed the test.
- If it hadn’t snowed, we could have gone to the party.
- He would’ve been on time if his car hadn’t broken down.
- They might have won the championship if the quarterback hadn’t been injured.
- If I had studied more English, I could have worked in the USA.
The third conditional is made up of 2 parts– The “IF” clause & the main clause. These can be swapped around:
The “IF” clause introduces the past hypothetical condition.
The main clause tells the result or consequence of the condition.
- If I had saved more money , I would have been able to go to the concert.
- If it hadn’t rained, I would have ridden my motorcycle.
- If I had slept at 9pm, I could have woken up earlier.
- I would have slept all night if I had a comfortable pillow.
- I could have been in the NFL if I hadn’t injured my knee.
The third conditional is structured like this:
IF + SUBJECT + PAST PERFECT, + SUBJECT + WOULD/COULD/MIGHT + HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE
- If I had found one hundred dollars, I would have bought a video game.
- If you had studied more, you would have passed the test.
- If he hadn’t slept late, he could have woken up early.
- If I had worked harder, I might have been promoted.
However, the sentence structure can also be reversed:
SUBJECT + WOULD/COULD/MIGHT + HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE + IF + SUBJECT + PAST PERFECT
- I would have worked harder if I had had a better salary.
- I would have gone to Mexico City if he had bought me a ticket.
- She would have been my wife if I had shown her more love.
- TikTok wouldn’t have been popular if it hadn’t been for Vine.
Practice with the questions below:
- If you had been born in another country, how do you think your life would have been different?
- If you had studied something else in school, what career would you have chosen?
- If you had met your best friend earlier, how would your life have changed?
- If you hadn’t started using social media, how would your life have been different?
- If you had known how hard adulthood is, what would you have done differently as a teenager?
- If you had gone to bed earlier last night, do you think you would have felt better today?
- If you had saved more money last year, what would you have spent it on?
- If you hadn’t chosen your current job or major, what else would you have done?
- If you had met a celebrity when you were younger, how would you have reacted?
- If you hadn’t moved to your current city, where would you have lived instead?
- If you had known your favorite song’s lyrics earlier, would you have sung it in public?
- If you hadn’t watched so much TV as a kid, what hobby would you have developed instead?
- If you had gone on your dream trip last year, where would you have gone?
- If you had practiced an instrument as a child, how good would you have been by now?
- If you had been more confident in school, how would your experience have changed?
- If your parents hadn’t met, how different would your life have been?
- If you hadn’t learned English, how would your opportunities have changed?
- If you hadn’t made a big mistake in your past, what would you have missed learning?
- If you hadn’t watched that one movie or series, what would you have watched instead?
- If you hadn’t met a certain person, how would your life have turned out?
- If you had known about cryptocurrency earlier, would you have invested in it?
- If you hadn’t listened to your parents’ advice, what would have happened?
- If you had been born 100 years ago, what kind of job would you have had?
- If you had studied abroad, how would it have changed your view of the world?
- If you had known what you know now, what would you have done differently last year?
