Introduction

• The 2nd conditional talks about unreal situations in the present.
• The 3rd conditional talks about unreal situations in the past.
• Mixed conditionals mix the time reference.

• "If you hadn’t broken your leg, you would be able to play football today."
  In this example, the "if" clause has a 3rd conditional structure ("if" + past perfect) whilst the main clause uses a 2nd conditional structure ("would" + infinitive).
  This combination shows how an unreal past action has a present or future unreal result.
   
• "If I were more dedicated, I would have studied to be a doctor."
  In this example, the "if" clause has a 2nd conditional structure ("if" + past simple) whilst the main clause uses a 3rd conditional structure ("would have" + past participle).
  This combination illustrates how a continuing condition influenced a past situation.

Practice

• We can also use past continuous in the 2nd conditional "if" clause:
  "If it were raining, he wouldn’t have gone out on his motorbike."
   
• We can replace "would" with "should" / "might" / "could":
  "If it were raining, he might not have gone out on his motorbike."
   
• Sometimes we use "when" instead of "if":
  "When she arrived on time, I should have thanked her."
   

Further practice