- Ejercicio
- Explicación
- Video
📝 Instructions for the Activity
In this activity, you will see 10 sentences, each with a blank space.
Your task is to choose the correct answer from three options.
👉 Only one option is correct, so read carefully and choose the best one!
When you select an answer, the system will automatically check it and tell you if your choice is right or wrong.
At the end of the activity, you will get a summary of all your answers,
plus explanations for the correct ones, so you can learn and improve.
💪 Take your time, do your best, and most importantly—have fun learning!
Good luck!
🧠 What Are Mixed Conditionals?
Mixed conditionals are conditional sentences that combine two different time references—usually the past and the present—in a single sentence.
We use them to express how something that did or didn’t happen in the past is affecting the present, or how an unreal situation in the present could have changed something in the past.
In short:
👉 A past situation with a present result,
or
👉 A present situation with a past result.
🔧 Structure of Mixed Conditionals
Mixed conditionals are made by mixing the grammar of the second conditional and the third conditional.
Let’s quickly review those two:
- Second Conditional:
Used for unreal or unlikely situations in the present or future.
Structure:If + past simple, would + base verb
Example:
If I had a car, I would drive to work. - Third Conditional:
Used for unreal situations in the past (things that didn’t happen).
Structure:If + past perfect, would have + past participle
Example:
If I had studied, I would have passed.
Now… Mixed Conditionals combine these when the time of the condition and the result don’t match.
🔄 Two Types of Mixed Conditionals
✨ Type 1: Past condition ➡ Present result
We imagine a different past, and how that would affect us now.
Structure:If + past perfect, would + base verb
Example:
If I had studied harder, I would be passing the test now.
👉 I didn’t study enough (past), and now I’m not passing the test (present result).
✨ Type 2: Present condition ➡ Past result
We imagine that if things were different now, the past would have been different.
Structure:If + past simple, would have + past participle
Example:
If I were more confident, I would have spoken at the meeting.
👉 I’m not confident (present), so I didn’t speak at the meeting (past result).
🔍 How Are Mixed Conditionals Different from Second Conditionals?
- Second Conditional stays completely in the present/future:
If I had more time, I would travel. - Mixed Conditional connects two different times:
If I had more time (now), I would have finished the project (in the past).
OR
If I had started earlier (past), I would be done by now (present).
🧪 More Examples
✅ Past → Present
- If I had taken that job, I would be living in New York now.
(But I didn’t take the job. Now, I don’t live there.) - If we had left earlier, we wouldn’t be stuck in traffic now.
(We left late, and we’re still in traffic.)
✅ Present → Past
- If I were more organized, I wouldn’t have missed the deadline.
(I’m not organized now. That caused a problem in the past.) - If she were taller, she would have joined the basketball team.
(She isn’t tall, so she didn’t join the team.)
🧩 Summary: Quick Structures
| Meaning | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Past affects Present | If + past perfect, would + base verb | If I had prepared, I would feel confident now. |
| Present affects Past | If + past simple, would have + past participle | If I were smarter, I would have said no. |
💡 Why Are Mixed Conditionals Important?
Mixed conditionals allow us to express regrets, hypothetical thinking, and complex emotions about how things might have been different.
They’re very useful for:
- Telling stories
- Reflecting on past decisions
- Giving emotional or personal opinions
- Expressing “what if” moments
✅ Final Tip
Practice noticing time shifts:
Is the condition in the past or the present?
Is the result in the past or the present?
Once you can identify that, you’ll know which structure to use!