Mixed third/second conditional
We use this combination to talk about a hypothetical condition happening in the past (third conditional) with a present result (second conditional).
- If I had been elected, I would be the president now.
- If I had won the lottery, I would be rich.
- I might have a better job now if I hadn’t dropped out of school.
Mixed second/third conditional
We use this combination to talk about a hypothetical condition happening in the present (second conditional) with a past result (third conditional).
- If I were a man, they would have given me the job.
- If I didn’t have so much work, I would have gone to the party last night.
- I would have understood them if I spoke German.
Tip
In mixed second/third conditionals, the hypothetical present situation is assumed to have also been true in the past, impacting a past outcome. For example, in the sentence: “I would have understood them if I spoke German.”, the speaker implies that they didn’t speak German in the past when they wanted to understand the other people.
References