Mixed Conditionals

Conditional sentences consist of a main clause and a dependent clause. The dependent clause contains the conjunction if. They can be categorized into four types: 0, 1, 2 and 3. However, conditionals can also be mixed. Let us look at examples:

The following are mixed conditionals:

If I had won the lottery, I would be a millionaire.
If I had studied business, I would have more opportunities.
If she had been born here, she wouldn't need a work visa.

Notice that the if-clause expresses an event in the past, but the main clause expresses an event in the present.

Here are more examples:

If I didn't have to work so much, I'd have gone to the movies with you last night.
If James knew Italian, he would have translated the form for you.
If I had enough money, I would have bought the BMW we saw yesterday.

In these sentences the if-clauses expresses an event in the present, but the main clause expresses an event in the past.

Conditional sentences are very common. They can begin with the main clause or the dependent clause, also known as the if-clause. Among the conditional sentences are also sentences which consist of mixed conditionals.