grammar · neutral
If + past perfect, would have + past participle
Talks about an unreal past condition and its imagined past result.
Examples
“If I had known about the exam, I would have revised more.”
“Had she arrived earlier, she would have joined us.”
“If they had booked tickets, they would have avoided queues.”
Band 8 sentence
“Had the university informed applicants earlier, many would have arranged their travel plans accordingly.”
Collocations
- If I had known
- would have + past participle
Common mistakes
If I would have known, I would have helped.→If I had known, I would have helped.
If I had known, I would go to the party.→If I had known, I would have gone to the party.
If she had come, she would have went.→If she had come, she would have gone.
Say it for a higher band
5I wish + past simple→6If only + past perfect→7+If + past perfect, would have + past participle
Synonyms
I wish + past perfect
If only + past perfect
Easily confused
I wish + past perfect
“I wish I had booked the tickets earlier.”
Related words
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In Complex sentences
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