Past Conditional

There are two versions of the past conditional: the past real conditional and the past unreal conditional.

1) The past real conditional
a) Form:
The past real conditional is formed by the following clause:
"If / when" + verb in simple past, verb in simple past.

The order of the two sentences can be inversed:
verb in simple past, "if / when" + verb in simple past

- Examples:
When my wife and I went on vacation to Britany, we usually took her parents along. Now, they unfortunately don' t want to travel any more.
When the Jone's family had a birthday party, they usually invited the whole neighbourhood. Now, they party all by themselves.
If the sky was overcast, our neighbour always parked his car in the car-port. Now, he usually forgets about it.
Erika always helped her children make ends meet to the degree that she could afford it. Now, she doesn’t have the means for it any longer.
When my grandparents went on vacation, they usually drove by car. Now they take the train or fly.

b) Use:
The past real conditional is used to describe an action that generally happened in a particular situation in the past. It is usually employed to indicate that the habits of the speaker have changed and that he or she now does not do these things any more.

c) Notes:
- “Used to” + infinitive:

To emphasize that the action described was an old habit that has been stopped, it is common to employ the term “used to” + infinitive in past real conditional sentences, especially in spoken language.
The meaning does not change, but the speaker’ s stress is more on the fact that the habit has been stooped.

Examples:
When my wife and I went on vacation to Britany, we used to take her parents along. Now, they unfortunately don' t want to travel anymore.
When the Jones’ family had a birthday party, they used to invited the whole neighbourhood. Now, they party all by themselves.
If the sky was overcast, our neighbour always used to park his car in the car-port. Now, he more often than not forgets about it.

- If / when:
Generally speaking, both “if” and “when” can be used interchangeably in a past real conditional clause. However, the use of “if” emphasizes that the described action happened unfrequently or irregularly, while “when” stresses the opposite – that an event took place frequently or regularly.

Examples:
When we went to the movies, we usually asked our neighbours to join us. (We regularly went to the movies.)
If my boss was in a good mood, he would let me leave before 6 p. m. (My boss rarely was in a good mood.)

2) Past Unreal Conditional
a) Form:
The past unreal conditional is formed by the following clause:
"If" + verb in past perfect, "would have" + verb in past participle

The order of the two sentences can be inversed:
"Would have" + verb in past participle, "if" + verb in past perfect

b) Use:
Unlike the past real conditional, the past unreal conditional is not used to describe a real action in the past – but an imaginary event in the past that never took place. It is generally used when the speaker wants to point out that he or she had done something differently or that an event would have unfolded differently if the circumstances had been unlike those that really existed.

- Examples:
If I had passed my bar exam, I would have started a career as attorney-at-law. But I didn’t, so I started working in finance.
He would have visited Berlin on his last business trip to Germany if he had had more time. But he didn’ t, so he stayed in Frankfurt, where the business meeting took place.
I would have studied harder when I was in college if it had not been for my girlfriend with whom I spent too much time. Unfortunately, I didn’t, so I graduated with only a passing grade.
John would have gotten sick if he had not taken his medicine regularly. But I reminded him to do so, and he stayed healthy.

c) Notes:
- No use of “when”, only use of “if”:

“When” cannot be used with the past unreal conditional, as it implies an action has really taken place in the past, while the past unreal conditional describes an imaginary action in the past.

- Modal verbs in the past conditional:
“May”, “shall” and “can” cannot used with “would” have, but have to be used in one of the special forms below:
“would have” and “can”: could have
“would have” and “shall”: should have
“would have” and “may”: might have

Examples:
If you had studied harder, you could have passed the bar exam.
If we had had more time last weekend, we might have visited Grandma.

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