Although mixed conditionals are covered in Unit #2 Words of Wisdom, it is important to look at these structures when we are developing a one-sided debate or argument. These structures are often employed so as to give our standpoint more clout.

Mixed Conditional Sentences

It is possible for the two parts of a conditional sentence to refer to different times, and the resulting sentence is a mixed conditional sentence. There are two types of mixed conditional sentences:

Present result of a past conditional

Form

The tense in the "if" clause is the past perfect and the tense in the "main clause" is the present conditional.

If Clause (past perfect) Main Clause (present conditional)
If I had worked harder at English, I would not be taking English classes now.
If I had eaten lunch, I would not be so hungry.

Function


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