Review conditional prepositions

Conditional prepositions


Do you remember how to talk about things you “wish had or hadn’t happened” in the past? We use the “third conditional”.

Remember, the structure is: if + past perfect, ...would + have + past participle

“If I had accepted” the blame for the team’s mistakes, I “would have looked like” an incompetent manager.

“If" we hadn’t laid” the blame on the system coding, the management “would have held” one of us responsible.

“If my colleagues hadn’t thrown” me under the bus, I “would have been” more willing to help them afterwards.

You can talk about past regrets or wishes in other ways. Let’s look at how we can use the word “without” to communicate these feelings.

“Without” the mistakes of the caterers, the event “would have been” a huge success.

“Without” thinking I was at fault for the team’s performance, I “would have enjoyed” working on the project.

I “would have given” a great presentation “without” the technical problems during the talk.

Let’s look at another phrase for expressing wishes or regrets: “if not for”.

“If not for” my colleagues throwing me under the bus, I “would have liked” my job.

“If not for” the constant distractions from my co-workers, I “would have been able to” correctly edit the report.

I “would have been” much more relaxed at work “if not for” being so hard on myself.

Now, let’s look at a more formal phrase you might not have seen before: “but for”.

“But for” the loud music during the conference, our clients “would have had” a great experience.

“But for” constantly being at each other’s throats, our department “would have completed” the project on time.

“But for” our poor performance on the project, we “would have gained” quite a few new clients.

Let’s review what you’ve learned...


As you remember, the third conditional describes past wishes or regrets, and describes the causes and effect of a situation.

“If” my colleagues “hadn’t thrown” me under the bus, I “would have been” more willing to help them afterwards.

We can describe these feelings using other phrases: “without”, “if not for”, and “but for”.

We still used the “would + have + past participle” structure to describe the effect.

“Without” the mistakes of the caterers, the event “would have been” a huge success.

“If not for” being so hard on myself, I “would have been” much more relaxed at work.

“But for” our poor performance on the project, we “would have gained” quite a few new clients.

I hope you found this review Conditional prepositions helpful...

Have a wonderful day!
7 de Junho de 2018
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Brian McCarthy

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Hi I’m Coach Brian, I am an experienced Business English language teacher and English language conversational coach. I offer 30 minute lessons and 60 minute lessons. For the 30 minute lessons, I provide you with a 50% discount coupon off the 60 minute lesson price and we then have an exciting 30 minute lesson! I have more than 30 years experience in business and business development and I have taught and coached many students in business communications in English and I have helped them to develop their business or career. I have a TESOL certificate for teaching English language and I am a certified business and life coach. I have been teaching business English and coaching business and career development for more than 10 years. I love working with all students no matter what your level is, from beginner to advanced. My pricing includes: * all lesson materials and pre-lesson work * pre-lesson material is sent to you 2 days before class * in class we review the lesson togethe...
Flag
Inglês
globe
Estados Unidos
time
453
Fala:
Inglês
Nativo
,
Tailandês
B1
,
Mandarim
A1
,
Vietnamita
A1
Hi I’m Coach Brian, I am an experienced Business English language teacher and English language conversational coach. I offer 30 minute lessons and 60 minute lessons. For the 30 minute lessons, I provide you with a 50% discount coupon off the 60 minute lesson price and we then have an exciting 30 minute lesson! I have more than 30 years experience in business and business development and I have taught and coached many students in business communications in English and I have helped them to develop their business or career. I have a TESOL certificate for teaching English language and I am a certified business and life coach. I have been teaching business English and coaching business and career development for more than 10 years. I love working with all students no matter what your level is, from beginner to advanced. My pricing includes: * all lesson materials and pre-lesson work * pre-lesson material is sent to you 2 days before class * in class we review the lesson togethe...
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