The Grammaring Guide to English Grammar with Exercises

Mixed conditionals

We can mix the second and third conditionals:

IF + 2ND CONDITIONAL | 3RD CONDITIONAL

This type of mixed conditional expresses a general condition with an imaginary result in the past:

If I

spoke

better English, I

could have got

the job.

(I don't speak English well enough, so I didn't get the job)

If you

were

smarter, you

wouldn't have borrowed

money in the first place.

(you are not smart; that's why you borrowed money)

IF + 3RD CONDITIONAL | 2ND CONDITIONAL

This type of mixed conditional expresses a hypothetical condition in the past with an imaginary result in the present:

If we

had followed

the sign, we

wouldn't be

lost now.

(we didn't follow the sign, and now we are lost)

If you

had drunk

less last night, you

wouldn't have

a hangover.

(you drank too much last night; that's why you have a hangover now)

Related topics:

Second conditional

Third conditional