grammarGRAMMAR


Conditional Perfect


Conditional perfect is an English grammatical tense. It indicates an action that someone would have done in the past. It describes what one would have done differently or how something could have occured differently if the events had been different.

Form

would + have + past participle

The modal 'would' can be replaced with could, might and should:

  • could have done
  • might have done
  • should have done

Affirmative

I would have traveled around the world.

Interrogative

Would you have traveled around the world?

Negative

I wouldn't have stayed in my hometown.

Use

Examples

  • She would have met him if she had come earlier.
  • You would have got more money if you had worked harder.
  • If he had studied harder, he would have passed the test.
  • If we had run faster, we could have arrived on time.

The conditional sentences type III stucture is as follows:

If + past perfect..., + conditional perfect (would + have + past participle)
Conditional perfect (would + have + past participle) + if + past perfect

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