Everyday Grammar: Mixed Conditional

John: Hi Dr. Jill, are you eating a salad?
Dr. Jill: Yes, it’s a mixed greens salad!
John: Gross! I hate vegetables
Dr. Jill: You are an unusual person, John. Vegetables are great!
John: Well, we can agree to disagree.
Dr. Jill: You know, my mixed greens salad is similar to a topic in grammar
John: Really? I’d like to hear more!
Dr. Jill: We sometimes talk about “mixed conditional” statements. There are a couple kinds, but one of the common ones mixes a past unreal condition and its likely result in the present.
John: Can you give an example?
Dr. Jill: Sure. How about this.
“If my students had studied more, they wouldn’t be failing the class.”
John: Maybe you are just a really tough grader, Dr. Jill. But I see your point – the if-clause expresses something about the past. Your students didn’t study enough. But if they had studied more, then they would have better grades – in the present. Mixed conditionals are almost like mixing lettuce greens and spinach in a salad. You are mixing past and present.
Dr. Jill: That’s right! When you combine the two, you get a nice result. Mixed conditionals can be tricky to learn, but mastering them will allow you to express all kinds of advanced language in English.
John: And that’s Everyday Grammar.

Originally published at - https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a...