General English Level 6 V 3
UNIT 04 The unexplained TOPIC 03 I couldn't believe my eyes
LANGUAGE FOCUS 05 Speculating about the past
Jake and Rani say:
Jake:
It (the noise) might have been the wind …
Rani:

It (the object disappearing) could have been your flat-mates, couldn't it?

Jake and Rani use might have been and could have been to talk about something in the past that they are not sure of but think might be possible. They want to find an explanation for something they don't understand. This is called speculating about the past.

To speculate about the past we use the modal verbs could, may or might + have + past participle .

We can also use the third conditional to speculate about events in the past. We use the third conditional to talk about an imaginary or unlikely event in the past and its result.

Jake says:
He' d never have come over if he' d known, would he?

Jake didn't tell his friend about the ghost because he thought his friend would not come over to his house if he knew about it.

Find out more about the third conditional.

Examples

1 Read the examples.
2 Listen to the examples.
3 Practise saying each example. Use the Pause button.
Where's my purse?
Jean might have taken it by mistake.

What was that noise?
It could have been the door banging.

Did she tell you the news?
She may have done, but I can't remember.

Revision of the zero, first, second and third conditional

The zero conditional

We use the zero conditional to talk about usual occurrences.
We make the zero conditional by using two clauses: the main clause and the conditional clause (which starts with if). The action in the main clause depends on the action in the conditional clause.

If she is really frightened, she starts shaking.

The verb in the conditional (if) clause is in the present simple tense or the present continuous tense.

The verb in the main clause can be in the present simple tense, the present continuous tense or the imperative.

If you hear a noise, it 's the wind in the trees. You 're imagining it.

Examples

1 Read the examples.
2 Listen to the examples.
3 Practise saying each example. Use the Pause button.
If she tells you about the ghost, don't listen to her.
If she tells you she's not scared, she 's lying.
If you hear a noise during the night, it' s the dog barking.
If I am alone in the house, I get scared.

The first conditional

We use the first conditional to talk about events in the future. There is a good chance these events will happen, but this depends on another event or action taking place.

She 'll tell you if she feels scared.

In the first conditional the verb in the main clause is in the future tense and the verb in the conditional clause is in the present simple tense.

If she sees a ghost, she 'll scream.

Examples

1 Read the examples.
2 Listen to the examples.
3 Practise saying each example. Use the Pause button.
He won't come here again if he feels frightened.
The story says the spirit will appear if the temperature falls.
If he won't believe me, what can I do?

The second conditional

We use the second conditional to talk about imagined (not real) events. These events will probably not happen.

If the spirit knew you were scared, it would go away.

We form the second conditional with would/wouldn't + verb in the main clause. The verb in the c onditional clause is in the past simple tense.

If he thought there was a ghost here, he would tell me.

Examples

1 Read the examples.
2 Listen to the examples.
3 Practise saying each example. Use the Pause button.
If I had the time, I 'd read a book about ghost hunting.
If she wasn't so scared, he 'd tell her the story.
I 'd visit the house myself if it wasn't so far away.

The third conditional

We use the third conditional to talk about something that might have happened in the past but did not.

I 'd have believed her story, if I had seen the ghost myself.

Examples

1 Read the examples.
2 Listen to the examples.
3 Practise saying each example. Use the Pause button.
If they 'd liked ghost stories, I would have told them about it.
They would have screamed if they had seen the curtain move.
If you hadn't told us, we 'd never have found out.

Now go to 06 WRITING Speculating about the past.