third conditional

noun

third conditional

noun

Grammar, Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences 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).

"If Columbus hadn't discovered America, he wouldn't have been famous" is an example of the third conditional.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.