3rd Conditional in English - alternative (simpler?) form

7 mesi fa

As we all know, the 3rd Conditional is a bit of a monster. It's one of the most complex grammatical structures in English, and even pronouncing it for native speakers can be a mouthful. 

But there's a common, slightly simpler alternative form that a lot of language learners overlook. 

Before we get to that, let's do a quick refresh of the standard 3rd Conditional form and usage. 

The form is:
If + subject + had/hadn't + past participle, would/could + have + past participle. 

We use this conditional to say how we would do the past differently if we had the chance. So for example:

If I had known there was a sale last week, I would have bought a new sweater. 

So clearly it's a complicated form to get our mouths around. 

As humans instinctively make language simpler, a slightly more efficient form has found its way into common usage. It's only one word less, but if you try it, I think you'll find it makes quite a difference in ease of pronunciation. 

To make this form, for the if-clause (the first part), we remove the "if", and change the position of the subject and "had". (note: it doesn't really work with sentences using hadn't) And that's it, the rest of the conditional is the same. 

The alternative form is:
Had + subject + past participle, would/could + have + past participle. 

Our previous sentence becomes:
Had I known there was a sale last week, I would have bought a new sweater. 

It's only a subtle change, but try saying both forms, and see if you can notice the difference in ease of pronunciation!