37 Mixed Conditionals

A Conditional Sentence is usually composed by two parts: the if-clause (or conditional clause) that expresses the condition, and the Main Clause that expresses the consequence of that condition. We have different structures for conditionals. {see Zero Conditional, First Conditional A2 level/Second Conditional, Third Conditional B1 Level}

Mixed Conditionals refer to conditional sentences that include two different types of conditional modals. Mixed Conditionals are unreal conditional sentences that are different than the time in the main-clause.

There are several types of Mixed Conditionals:

• Mixed Third/Second Conditional:
  If + past perfect, subject + would/might/could + verb (infinitive);
  
• Mixed Second/Third Conditional:
  If + past simple, would have/could have/might have + verb (infinitive);
• First Conditional:
  If + present simple, may/might/should/can/will + verb (infinitive).

• If he hadn’t such a brusque character, he would have had a girlfriend.
• If you learn how to stand up, you may not fall down in the future.
• If you hadn’t been an alcoholic, you wouldn’t suffer an illness.
• They would have felt the happiness if they were not such angry people.

Mixed Conditionals contain different meanings in their frames:

• Mixed third/second conditional talks about a comparison between past and present (does not matter whether it is real or imaginary);
• Mixed second/third conditional is about an ongoing situation and the correlation between ongoing situation and the past;
• First conditional usually talks about possible acts in future.