THE PAST UNREAL CONDITIONAL.

 

1. We talk about Past Unreal Conditional when we refer to hypothetical actions that we would have done in the past. Thus, the condition and the result are unreal. These sentences are used when describing situations that never happened.

Example:

• If he had died young , he wouldn´t have had children 

          (But he didn´t die young, so he had children)

• If I hadn´t eaten too much, I wouldn´t have had a stomachache.                                                                                                                                                                                                                

As we have seen in the present unreal conditional, the If Clause presents the unreal conditional, while the Result Clause presents the unreal result of the condition.

2. Use the past perfect  in the If Clause. Use Would Have + Past Participle in the Result Clause.

• If I had gotten a major in Medicine , I would have worked in a successful hospital.
• If Luisa had gone with us , she would have spent a great time.

3. If in case the result is not very certain that it will occur, then use Might have or Couldhave in the Result Clause thus expressing possibility.

Could have it is also used to express ability.

• If The company hadn´t laid him off , he wouldn´t have gotten a better position.
• If it had been sunny , we would have gone at the beach.

4. Do not take into account the position in which the sentences are found since the meaning is the same. Remember to use the comma when the If Clause begins the sentence.

• If he hadn´t been tired , he would have taken for a drive.  Or,
• He would have taken for a drive if he hadn´t been tired.