Look at these examples to see how third and mixed conditionals are used.
We would have walked to the top of the mountain if the weather hadn't been so bad.
If we'd moved to Scotland when I was a child, I would have a Scottish accent now.
If she was really my friend, she wouldn't have lied to me.
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
- Grammar test 1
Read the explanation to learn more.
Grammar explanation
Do you know how to use third and mixed conditionals?
Third conditionals and mixed conditionals
Conditionals describe the result of a certain condition. The if clause tells you the condition (If I hadn't been ill) and the main clause tells you the result (I would have gone to the party). The order of the clauses does not change the meaning.
If I hadn't been ill, I would have gone to the party.
I would have gone to the party if I hadn't been ill.
Conditional sentences are often divided into different types.
Third conditional
The third conditional is used to imagine a different past. We imagine a change in a past situation and the different result of that change.
If I had understood the instructions properly, I would have passed the exam.
We wouldn't have got lost if my phone hadn't run out of battery.
In third conditional sentences, the structure is usually: If + past perfect >> would have + past participle.
Mixed conditionals
We can use mixed conditionals when we imagine a past change with a result in the present or a present change with a result in the past.
1. Past/Present
Here's a sentence imagining how a change in a past situation would have a result in the present.
If I hadn't got the job in Tokyo, I wouldn't be with my current partner.
So the structure is: If + past perfect >> would + infinitive.
2. Present/Past
Here's a sentence imagining how a different situation in the present would mean that the past was different as well.
It's really important. If it wasn't, I wouldn't have called you on your holiday.
And the structure is: If + past simple >> would have + past participle.
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
- Grammar test 2
Hello CareBears07
As Swan mentions in the following sentence, 'if' can be used in many situations, not just those that teachers often call zero, first, second, third and mixed conditionals. (I'm not sure what edition you have, but if it's the third edition, read on to section 257. I'm not sure where he explains this in other editions.)
Particularly when the 'if' clause does not refer to an imaginary situation -- which seems to be the case in the sentence you cite -- all kinds of verb tenses can be used. In other words, this sentence could mean that we know that she did not phone this morning, and since she did not phone this morning, one possible explanation for this is that she's away.
Hope this helps.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Anna
I'm not familiar with that rule. The rule doesn't sound correct to me and in fact your example sentence is correct!
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello wcyam10
No, in the first case, the only option that is grammatically correct is 'wouldn't have missed'. The sentence speaks of an unreal past time (i.e. something that didn't happen) and a conditional perfect ('wouldn't have missed') to express this.
In the second case, only 'wouldn't have met' is correct for the same reason. The sentence speaks of an unreal past: a past in which my grandmother did not leave Ireland. But she did leave Ireland, so what the sentence speaks of is something 'unreal' or 'hypothetical' or imaginary.
Hope this helps make sense of it.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Chekytan,
The sentence you asked about is an example of the first type of mixed conditional (Past/Present) mentioned in the explanation above. The 'if'-clause speaks about an unreal past condition (i.e. about a past situation that is only imaginary because I did get the job in Tokyo) and an equally imaginary present situation (in which I am with my current partner).
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello CHEKYTAN,
An unreal past condition can have an unreal past result or an unreal present result. For the former, we use would have + verb3; for the latter, we use would verb.
For example:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team