Over lunch, Somsak reflects on his career. 'If I had studied civil engineering instead of mechanical, I would be working on bridges now.' Anna nods slowly. 'Notice what you just did — you mixed two timeframes. If I had studied (past, third conditional) but I would be working (present, second conditional). That's called a mixed conditional, and it's very natural in real speech, because our regrets about the past often affect our present.'

Nok adds one about herself. 'If I hadn't taken this course, I wouldn't be leading meetings so confidently now.' 'Exactly the same pattern,' Anna confirms. 'Past condition, present result.'

Anna then introduces something else. 'We can also drop if entirely, using inversion instead, which sounds even more formal. Were I to change careers, I would choose architecture. Should you need anything, just call me. Had I known earlier, I would have prepared differently.'

Somsak tries: 'Had I inspected the site sooner, I would have caught the problem earlier.' 'Beautiful,' Anna says. 'That's a genuinely advanced sentence — third conditional, without if, using inversion. You'll sound remarkably fluent using structures like this in your qualification interview.' 🔊