Extra Grammar 1

Conditional Sentences Type 3

Unreal Past Situations
Use
We use conditional sentences type 3 when we want to distance our language
from reality. In other words, when we talk about past situations that did not
actually happen (unreal past situations).

MAIN CLAUSE
(would have + past participle)

IF CLAUSE
(Past Perfect)

She would have passed the test

if she had studied harder.

I would have sent you a text message

if you had asked me to do so.

Notes: 1) It is important to mention that the if-clause can also come first. In this
case, a comma is needed:
If Susan had left home an hour earlier, she would not have missed the
plane.

2) We can also use this construction to ask questions:

A: What would Peter have done if he hadnt found the door open this
morning?

B: Well, I suppose he would have phoned us to get the keys to the door.

Practice
1 Use the correct tense of the verbs in brackets to make conditional sentences
type 3.
a If Tom

(stop) complaining about the homework, the teacher

(not give) us some extra work to do for tomorrow.

b If Michael

(not be) at the airport when we arrived, we

(have) to take a taxi to the city centre.

c Sandra

(pack) many more warm clothes if she

(know) that it was going to be so cold in Yorkshire in April.

d Your writing assignment

(have) fewer mistakes if you
(edit) it before handing it in.

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Form

Extra Grammar 1
you
e W
 here
The Lost Civilisations if I

(look) for information about

(not suggest) that website?

f W
 ho
we
(contact) to have the roof
(not say) that Jason could do it?
repaired if you
(cry) if he
(see)
g Why do you think Mike
that film?
(have) enough money for the down payment of the
h If we
(not ask) Dad to lend us some.
house, we
2 Read and write an answer.
What would you have done yesterday if

b you had met a celebrity in the street?

c there hadnt been any classes at school?

Could have and Might have

We can use could have + past participle to mean would have been able to or would
possibly have and might have + past participle to mean would perhaps have
Mr Smith could have made his presentation at the conference room if there had
not been so many technical problems.
If Jane had answered the questions correctly during the interview, she might
have got that job.

Practice
1 Circle the best option.
a I f it hadnt rained yesterday, we could / might have gone on a picnic.
b Sheila might / could have found us at home if she had phoned a bit earlier.
c Who might / could you have turned to for help if I hadnt been in town
when you had that problem?
d If I had had more spare time last summer, we could / might have gone on
holidays.

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a you hadnt had to study for todays class?

Extra Grammar 1
2 R
 ead and complete this email using could have or might have with the
verbs in brackets.

Brenda
Millie
School on fire

Hope you are doing well. I was surprised at not seeing you yesterday at school. Are you feeling well?
If you had attended classes yesterday, you (a)
(get) really scared. There
was a fire on the ground floor and the headmaster had to call the fire brigade. They really took long
to arrive and the fire began to grow bigger. Some teachers tried using a few fire extinguishers that
were available but they couldnt put it out. I suppose that if we had had more extinguishers, they (b)
(stop) the fire.
You cant imagine how frightening it was to see the building catching fire. Miss Simpson helped us all
evacuate the building. Do you remember last year we practised our school evacuation plan with Miss
Simpson? I guess that if we hadnt trained before, we (c)
(not abandon) the
place in time. When we were all outside the building, we could see the fire getting bigger and bigger.
It was horrible! If the firefighters had arrived earlier, the fire (d)
(not grow) so
much. It was so big that it burnt the whole library, the headmasters office and some of the rooms on
the first floor.
By the way, the test we were supposed to have tomorrow has been postponed. Mrs Bailey said that we
shouldnt worry for the time being.
Ill be at home today, so please phone me in case you need anything.
Take care
Brenda

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Hi Millie!

Extra Grammar 1
Answer Key
Unreal Past Situations

a had stopped / would not (wouldnt) have given

b had not (hadnt) been / would (d) have had
c would have packed / had (d) known
d would have had / had edited
e would (you) have looked / had not (hadnt)

suggested
f would (we) have contacted / had not (hadnt) said
g would have cried / had seen
h had had / would not (wouldnt) have asked

Students own answers

Photocopiable Ediciones Santillana S.A. / Richmond 2011

Could have and Might have

a could
b might
c might
d could

a might have got

b could have stopped
c could not (couldnt) have abandoned
d might not (mightnt) have grown

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