third conditional

English

Noun

third conditional (plural third conditionals)

  1. (grammar, linguistics) A structure used to convey unreal or unfulfilled events in the past, containing an if clause (with a verb in the past perfect) and a main clause (with would + the bare perfect infinitive of a verb).
    Coordinate terms: zero conditional, first conditional, second conditional, mixed conditional
    "If Columbus hadn't discovered America, he wouldn't have been famous" is an example of the third conditional.
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