Conditionals - Third Conditional

If we’d chosen just one different number, we’d have won the lottery.

If we’d bought a ticket.

Well, naturally, if we’d bought a ticket.

Statement of Form

If + past perfect, would + have + past perfect

Students need to know

We're talking about the past, and speculating: the events described didn't happen, but we’re imagining they did. We often use this to talk about:

regrets...

"If I'd known there was a civil war going on, I wouldn't have booked those two weeks in the Central African Republic.”

relief…

“Lucky I’m superstitious! If I’d walked under that ladder, that pile of bricks would have hit me directly on my head. As it was, you chose to go under the ladder, and are now a vegetable.”

and to gloat...

British TV sitcom character Basil Fawlty to wife: “You realise how much we would’ve won [if we’d bet on the horse]? £75 for a £5 stake. Still, you know best.” 

 (OK, students don’t really need to know that.)

Students struggle with

The meaning of ‘past hypothetical condition, past hypothetical outcome’ sounds tough, but is not necessarily all that difficult if presented clearly. It is the form, with all those “had”s, “would”s and participles, that causes most learners to throw in the towel.

In terms of pronunciation, native speakers will normally put the whole structure together with as many contracted and weak forms as they can feasibly squeeze in:

“If I’d known you were a cross-dresser, I wouldn’t’ve shown you my yacht.” Learners typically find this hard.

Generative situation

Remind students about the collapse of the ceiling at the Apollo Theatre in London in 2013. If you can show them the headline about the story, so much the better. Check that students understand the gist: that the collapse happened during the performance. Lots of people were injured; nobody was killed. Tell students about a couple who had tickets for the theatre that night but who missed the disaster because they were late. Elicit possible reasons and put them on the board in note form:

Got lost; train late; car broke down; took a long time getting ready.

Elicit 3^rd conditional sentences from which you can go on to check that students get the meaning, pronunciation and form:

If they had got dressed quicker, they would have caught the earlier train.

If they had caught the earlier train they would have been in the theatre.

If they had been in the theatre, they might have been injured.

Fun practice

Great Party / Great Movie. Students divided into two groups. Tell them that last Saturday night they had two choices, go to a party or go to a movie. One group went to the party, the other to the movie. It is now Monday morning, and they’re comparing experiences. Establish that each obviously claims that they had the better time:

“If you’d gone to the party, you’d have met Monica Polesworthy’s sister.”

“Who cares? If you’d gone to the movie you’d have seen the best special effects ever!”

“That’s nothing, … etc.”

You’ll need to get each group to think of eight to ten sentences designed to make their counterpart in the other group concede that they made the wrong choice. Monitor to ensure accuracy. Ideally get groups to rehearse their sentences out loud, so you can also encourage accurate pronunciation.

Elicit and briefly drill ways of dismissing what has just been said: That’s nothing!  Who cares? So what? Then try putting one student from each group together, perhaps standing toe to toe, and have them take turns as in the example above.