Inverted Conditionals: Have You Mastered This Advanced English Trick?

By Gabriel ClarkEasy English Grammar
Inverted Conditionals - Have You Mastered This Advanced English Trick

Let’s take a look at inverted conditionals in English. For more advanced English, check out Are You Making These 4 Advanced English Mistakes?

In this post, you’re going to learn how to use inversion in first, second and third conditionals in English.

Ready? Let’s go!

1. Inverted Conditionals – First Conditional (“Should”)

Let’s take a simple first conditional sentence:

If he remembers his own name, we’ll be able to help him.

To invert this:

  1. Replace “if” with “should.”
  2. Replace the verb with the bare infinitive. (e.g. “goes” →” go,” “has” → “have,” am/is/are → “be”)

Inverted Conditionals - First Conditional Example Sentence

Should he remember his own name, we’ll be able to help him.

Easy, right?

2. Inverted Conditionals – Second Conditional (“Were”)

OK. This one is fun but also a little more complex.

There are actually two uses of the inverted second conditional:

  1. With verbs, to describe an unlikely future
  2. With “be,” to describe an unreal present state

Let’s look at them one by one.

Inverted Second Conditional for Unlikely Future Events

We can use the second conditional to talk about something in the future that probably isn’t going to happen.

You know, like how everyone said that Brexit wouldn’t happen. Or that Trump wouldn’t get elected President.

Of course, these things happened — but they seemed very unlikely to happen at the time.

That’s when we could’ve used this tense.

Here’s an example:

If he pushed the button, we’d all have problems.

To invert this:

  1. Replace “if” with “were.”
  2. Change the verb to the infinitive form (with “to”).

Inverted Conditionals - Second Conditional Example Sentence

Were he to push the button, we’d all have problems.

So back at the beginning of 2016, we could’ve said things like:

Were Brexit to happen, I’d be surprised.

or…

Were Trump to get elected, we’d all be surprised. Very surprised.

It was a very surprising year.

Inverted Second Conditional for Unreal Present States

The last examples (Trump getting elected and Brexit happening) were solid events, with “proper” verbs.

But we can also use this inversion with the verb “be.”

Example? OK — here we go:

If I was ridiculously rich, I think I’d still work.

To invert this:

  1. Remove “if.”
  2. Invert subject and verb. (“I was” → “was I”)
  3. If necessary, change “was” to “were.”

Were I ridiculously rich, I think I’d still work.

Want more examples and practice? Check out the quiz at the end of the post.

3. Inverted Conditionals – Third Conditional (“Had”)

Onward! To the example!

If we’d arrived sooner, we wouldn’t have missed the beginning.

To invert this:

  1. Delete “if.”
  2. Invert the subject and the auxiliary. (“we had” → “had we”)

Inverted Conditionals - Third Conditional Example Sentence

Had we arrived sooner, we wouldn’t have missed the beginning.

So we’ve covered how to invert first, second and third conditional sentences.

You might want to ask, “Can we invert mixed conditionals?”

The answer?

We’ll never know!

Just kidding. “Yes.” The answer is “yes.”

4. Inverted Conditionals – Mixed Conditionals

If you want to use a mixed conditional sentence AND invert it (you maniac!), the process is really quite easy.

Here’s how to do it with this mixed conditional sentence:

If the driver were faster, we would’ve arrived ages ago.

Look at the first part of your mixed conditional:

If the driver were faster, …

Invert it:

Were the driver faster, …

And that’s it — the second part doesn’t change.

It makes no difference whether you want to mix the second conditional with the third:

If the driver were faster, we would’ve arrived ages ago.

→

Were the driver faster, we would’ve arrived ages ago.

Or the third with the second:

If we’d got just one more signature, we’d be on target now.

→

Had we got just one more signature, we’d be on target now.

5. Inverted Conditionals – Negative

Finally, let’s take a look at negative inverted conditionals.

There’s one simple rule here:

Add “not” after the subject.

First conditional:

Should Batman come, we’ll escape!

Should Batman not come, we’re in big trouble. But don’t worry, he always comes.

Second conditional:

Were Tom a smart person, he’d invest all his money in Cobra Industries.

Were Anna not a smart person, she’d give all her money to Shady Nick.

Third conditional:

Had they told us about the dolphin, we wouldn’t have come.

Had Anna not voted, the dolphin would have won.

Fun, right?

But it’s good to get a bit more practice in, so why not try out this quick quiz?

Drag and drop the words into the correct spaces.

Inverted Conditionals Quiz

How did you go?

Be sure to check out Are You Making These 4 Advanced English Mistakes? while you’re here.

Did you find this useful? If so, then BE AWESOME AND SHARE! Let’s spread the knowledge and make the world a smarter place!

119 thoughts on “Inverted Conditionals: Have You Mastered This Advanced English Trick?”

  1. Thank you so much Clark for this post. There aren´t so many opportunities to practice this point. It is very useful indeed!!!

    Reply

      2. If Ihad money, I would buy a new car.
        Can we say: Had I money, I would buy a new car.
        This means we can replace if with had when had is the main verb. Or we should say:Were I to have money, I would buy a new car…
        Please tell me and the reference if possible…Thanks a bunch.

        Reply

        1. Good question.

          The confusing part here is the “had” for the past perfect “I had eaten …” for example and “had” as a verb.

          In your example “If I had money, …” it’s a verb.

          So you need to go for the second inversion: “Were I to have money …”

          Hope that helps! 🙂

          Reply

          2. Hi Anna,

            I’m afraid we can’t say “Did I have …”

            Remember that if we’re inverting the second conditional “If I had money, …” the trick is to use “Were I …” so we’d say “Were I to have money, …”

            If you’re inverting the third conditional “If I’d had money, …” then we just invert the first two words: “Had I had money, …”

            Though, because this all sounds rather strange, we tend not to invert the third conditional when the verb is “have.” I mean “Had I had …” just sounds ridiculous, right? 🙂

            Hope that helps!

          4. wGood question.

            I would probably say “If I had money” or, to invert, “Were I to have money.” That’s because “Had I had money” is the inversion of “If I had had money,” which is referring to something in the past. That means the “I would buy that car” doesn’t fit, as this is a general state.

            So, I’d go for either “Were I to have money, I’d buy that car.” or “Had I had money, I would’ve bought that car.”

            A similar problem with the second sentence. You need to ask yourself the question: “Am I speaking generally or am I being specific?”

            The “Had I had breakfast” implies something specific, but the “I would not collapse” feels more general (or at least something that’s about to happen, not something that happened in the past).

            So, again, I’d either say, “Had I had breakfast, I wouldn’t have collapsed.” or “Were I to have breakfast, I wouldn’t collapse.”

            Hope that makes sense and great work!

    2. What a great material. It is very handy, especially for people like me who aren’t English native speakers.

      Reply

  2. Thank you so much for your useful articles.

    Had I not known about this source I would have missed so much. You gave me better understanding of this complicated subject Mixed Conditional. Moreover you wrote such a great article about something I’ve never used in my speaking before. Inverted Conditionals. I’m glad to get smarter with you.
    I’m sure,
    Should I have any questions about grammar, I’ll always find a good explanation on your website.
    Your works are worth exploring and sharing. Thanks a lot.

    Reply

    1. Wow — thanks Irina!

      I really appreciate the positive feedback, but of all, I’m glad that it helped you get smarter! Good work and keep it up.

      And remember — should you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask. 🙂

      Reply

  3. So, in a less… how should I put it — formal style, it may be: “If you should go skating; On the thin ice of modern life… Don’t be surprised when…” (Pink Floyd, 1979), right?
    And what’s the difference in meaning when ‘would’ after ‘if’?
    Amy to Raj: “If you’d let me pierce your brain with a hot needle in the right place, you’d be happy all the time.”

    Reply

    1. Absolutely — the old “should” as a subjunctive. Very formal these days.

      Good question about the “would” after “if.” I think it’s the hypothetical version of “will,” but not “will” in its usual sense. But “will” as in “having the will” to do something. It can also be used to describe habits.

      It’s like when we say something like “Hey — you’re dog’s eating cornflakes!” — “Yeah, he’ll do that.”

      Reply

  4. Thanks Gabriel for this post with great and very graphic explanations, examples, exercise and funny video 🙂 The actress doesn’t understand the inversion structure and that is why she misunderstands the manager. I will share this with my students.

    Reply

    1. Thanks very much Ana.

      And congrats! You’re the first person to respond to the not-so-intelligent actress clip.

      I hope your students enjoy it, too! I’d love to hear how it goes in with them.

      Reply

    2. Hello, I have trouble with inverting 2. conditional with the use of Past Continous instead of Past Simple. This is my sentence:
      “Harry would say Malfoy is kind of a ferret if he was describing his colleague.”
      Should it be:
      “Harry would say Malfoy is kind of a ferret was he describing his colleague.”
      or:
      “Harry would say Malfoy is kind of a ferret was he to describe his colleague.”?
      Your help would be truly appreciated.

      Reply

      1. Wow! That’s a tricky one! I guess that’s because the conditional is embedded in a reported speech structure.

        Your answer is pretty good. “Were he” instead of “was he” feels a little better, but I think I’d also change the structure in order to make it flow better.

        Here’s how I would do it:

        “Were he to describe his colleague, Harry would say Malfoy was a kind of ferret.”

        Hope that helps!

        Reply

      1. It seems to me that this blog has been changed. The whole point of the previous version was that sentences with inversion sound (more) formal than those with the conventional if-construction. And the text had something like “Imagine you were invited to the ambassador’s party… how to fit… ” etc. Hence my comment above (JANUARY 31, 2018 AT 2:21 PM).

        Reply

        1. Ah yes, of course!

          Well, welcome to the secret world of blogging!

          Basically a few weeks after we publish the post, we start to “slim down” any posts that are doing well on search traffic, since most of the people arriving at the post shift from those looking for a “good read,” to those who are after “quick answers.”

          Does that make sense.

          Strange world sometimes, no? 🙂

          Reply

  7. Thanks very much for your excellent explanation..
    I have a question about negative form for the second conditional wit (to verb)…
    I didn’t find the relative example…
    please help me ?‍♀️

    Reply

    1. Hi Shne,

      I’m not sure I completely understand your question.

      Are you asking about an example with a negative 2nd conditional?

      I can give you that: “If you didn’t know he was a Mexican wrestler, would you believe he was?”

      If I misunderstood your question, let me know and can you give me an example of what you mean?

      Cheers!

      Reply

  8. Great work Gabriel. These Conditional sentences had tricked me for long. It is because of you the confusion finally disappeared.

    Reply

  9. I don’t often comment but I found that post really interesting !
    I first heard about this Inverted Conditionals when I listened to the trailer of Impossible Mission “Your mission, should you choose to accept it”, and I truly found this way of saying things much more formal or fancy than just a “if”. Is that thought shared with English natives ?
    If yes, as a French I am looking for other “sentence structures” to sound like formal (in the nice way) so in case you have other articles or readings, please share it anytime 🙂

    Reply

    1. Hi Luc.

      Of course! Mission Impossible! I’d completely forgotten about that example.

      I tend to write about informal, everyday English (as there’s a lot out there on formal, fancy English), so the closest I’ve got for other more formal stuff is this one on phrasal verbs:
      https://www.clarkandmiller.com/25-phrasal-verbs-and-when-not-to-use-them/

      However, I like the idea of doing another post with some “fancy” structures. So will definitely keep it in mind.

      Thanks!

      Reply

  11. Thank you so much for sharing this. It does help me. I laughed so hard when you were kidding about the possibility of converting mixed conditional LOL

    Reply

  12. Hello! Thank you for great explanation!
    Could you, please, give examples alongside with rules for the case when main clause in Conditional Sentences is inverted? (I mean that part without IF)
    Thank you in advance and have a nice day!

    Reply

    1. Hi!

      That’s an interesting question. Here’s my answer.

      Basically, the main clause in conditional sentences can be inverted in any way a normal sentence can be inverted as there isn’t much real difference between a main clause and a simple sentence (a sentence that consists of just one clause).

      For example let’s take the sentence: “If I’d known he was here, I wouldn’t have said that.”

      The “if” clause, as we’ve seen in this post can be in post, can be “Had I known, …”

      Now the main cause? That’s just a normal sentence, right? “I wouldn’t have said that.” works just by itself.

      So you CAN invert it. But not because it’s part of an “if” sentence, but just because you can invert sentences anyway.

      The classic way of inversion is taking the “subject” “verb” “object” form and putting the object at the beginning.

      So “I wouldn’t have said that” becomes “That, I wouldn’t have said.”

      Sounds strange, right? Well — that’s what inversions do. They make us sound like Yoda.

      Reply

  13. Hi dear Sir,

    In advance, thanks so much for your extremely helpful article, i could find answers of my questions efficiently.

    I will be so grateful should you answer my question, i wanted to practice inverted conditionals for following sentence, i believe it is second conditional, but i don’t find the inverted sentence right, would you please check whether i have done right job?

    They would stay in their hometown forever if they were able to change some annoying features.
    they would stay in their hometown forever were they to able to change some annoying features.

    Thanks so much.
    B.Regards
    Fatima

    Reply

    1. Hi Fatma,

      Good question!

      You’ve almost got it perfect. The inversion is correct, but there’s a small mistake. Instead of “were they to able to change…” it should read “were they able to change.”

      See the difference? You’ve added an extra “to.” An easy mistake to make and good work — you got the difficult bit! 🙂

      Reply

      1. Thanks so much for you answer.

        Regarding the First Conditional, did i write following sentence in the right way?
        “One is able to be far more creative should he be interested in what he does rather than just working for making a living”
        I’m just not sure about changing does to do, should i?

        Regards

        Reply

  15. Excellent!!!! Very useful and practical exercise sentences! Those helped me more for being sure in my grammar sentences.

    Reply

  20. Great piece, thank you so much for making my life easier.
    But I noticed a couple of errorsif I could just them out:

    If he pushed the button, we’d all have problems. – If he HAD pushed the button…
    If I was ridiculously rich, I think I’d still work. – If I WERE ridiculously …

    Reply

    1. Hi Derek,

      Thanks for the comment and the positive feedback.

      I’ve had a look back at the post to check out your suggestions, but everything seems to be in order.

      The “If he pushed the button …” sentence is supposed to be in the second conditional. It’s a hypothetical “no-time” scenario.

      As for using the conjunctive for the second conditional, that’s not strictly necessary. I had a quick look at a corpus and found that “If I was …” actually outperforms “If I were …” with just over 11,000 entries and just over 9,000 entries respectively.

      Great to hear your feedback, though. Thanks!

      Reply

  22. Wow
    It was amazing , I considered this structure as a nightmare but according to your fascinating introduction I’ve learned it completely
    thanks a lot

    Reply

    1. Sure! It is!

      This is another kind of inversion and basically means “If he wasn’t going to…”

      — “Were he to go to work, he’d be able to stay and help.”

      It’s worth pointing out that this is a pretty old fashioned and has steadily fallen in use over the years.

      Thanks for commenting, Diego! 🙂

      Reply

  27. Great article. Very good examples.
    I got a question on Inverted Second Conditional for Unreal Present States, though.

    Is sentence
    Were kids playing outside now, they would be soaking wet. (they are playing indoors at the moment).
    correct?

    I could only find examples with “were I smth, then smth” and not a single with “Were I -ing smth, then smth”

    Thanks!

    Reply

    1. Hi Michael,

      Good question, and the answer is “yes — it’s totally fine.”

      You can use it with a verb:
      “Were he working here, he’d go mad.”
      Or without:
      “Were they here, they’d be absolutely shocked!”

      Great work!

      Reply

    1. Hi Hosilbek,

      Well, in spoken informal English, this sentence is fine. (Informal, because you’ve dropped the subject in the first clause).

      However, I wouldn’t call it an inversion. The inverted form would’ve been:

      “(I) would’ve been happy to advise you had you asked me.”

      Thanks for the comment!

      Reply

      1. Thank you so million teacher?
        Teacher sorry for bothering you again that i ve a new problem with grammar.
        In english, there is a rule like that IT IS HIGH TIME SB DID(it is high time you went)
        Yet , at the moment i am thinking about one changing releted to comma
        IT IS HIGH TIME, WE HAVE TO GO
        Can we use this pattern ?
        I mean if we use comma, putting between them, what kind of tense should we use? Past or present?

        Reply

        1. Wow — what a specific question!

          I’d probably either go for the full phrase (so then it should use the past): “It’s high time we went.” or a full stop or ellipsis to separate the phrases: “It’s high time. We have to go.” or “It’s high time … we have to go.”

          Remember that this stuff isn’t an exact science — it’s more of a craft. Punctuation, most of the time, is there to help you create the pacing you want to express.

          Having said that, if you’re writing for something specific like an exam, a magazine or a paper for uni, then you’d simply have to consult their style guide. They’re all a little different and have slightly different rules, especially when it comes to the tricky nature of punctuation.

          Good luck!

          Reply

  31. Hi, Gabriel. I write for a regional daily newspaper, and I’d just like to make sure I’ve mastered this aspect of grammar to your satisfaction before I commit myself to print. Is it legitimate to invert a conditional that begins with “Even if”? Is it grammatically correct to say, “Even were the season completed, the idea of scrapping relegation would still be conceivable”?
    Thank you.

    Reply

  32. Hello
    Thank you for this short lesson. I was not aware of this structure until I was working on a presentation. Thank once again

    Reply

    1. Surely you can manage that after reading the blog post?

      Remember the rules:
      Replace “if” with “were.”
      Change the verb to the infinitive form (with “to”).

      (Oh, and the phrasal verb is “drop off”) 🙂

      Hope that helps 🙂

      Reply

    1. Hi there
      And thank you for this helpful article.
      I’ve got a question regarding inverting conditional sentences which are passive.
      For example:
      If I weren’t told so, I wouldn’t wait here.
      Or
      If the house weren’t so expensive, they would buy it.

      Reply

  38. I usually don’t give a hoot about putting a comment under somebody’s post,but i decided to do it for you since it was one of the most comprehensive and simple explanations of a Grammar rule,tnx a lot

    Reply

  39. Hi
    It was fantastic
    Thanks a lot
    but I have a question
    Can I say: “Were I not to live here…”
    instead of “If I didn’t live here…”
    ??

    Reply

  40. Isn’t this sentence “Should Batman not come, we’re in big trouble. But don’t worry, he always comes.” Zero Conditional?

    Reply

    1. Nice one!

      Yes – this totally works! The first half of the first conditional is also the same as the first part of zero.

      I hadn’t thought of this before. Thanks! 🙂

      Reply

  41. Hello, Great lesson, well exlained.
    I also have a question. In a sentence: If we weren’t so clever, we wouldn’t have got the contract. – Shouldn’t there be “gotten” instead of got (get – got – gotten)?

    Reply

    1. Hi Monika,

      Thanks!

      And in answer to your question, then I’d say, “If you’re American!” Generally speaking the past particle of “get” is “got” in the UK (get-got-got) and “gotten” in the US (get-got-gotten).

      Glad the lesson helped! 🙂

      Reply

  42. Thank you so much, you made these conditionals so much easier to understand.
    But can you show me how I could invert this sentence? Thank you so much in advance.

    “If I were you, I would have done the work”

    Reply

    1. Thanks Vy!

      Yes:
      “Were I you, I would’ve done the work.”

      Sounds weird, though, doesn’t it?

      That’s because when we invert the 2nd conditional and the verb is already “be” we just invert it like a question. But it feels kind of … insubstantial, and as a result, it’s not used very often.

      Hope that helps! 🙂

      Reply

  44. Should I want to say that which site is the best to learn inverted conditionals and some other complicated grammar, I’ll definitely choose yours:)

    Reply

  45. This website is like a shortcut to understanding complex grammar real quick, especially for me 🙂 I would like to ask you if you can invert this.
    “If I’d known you were coming, I’d have made more food.”
    But please don’t use should, were, or had. Thanks in advanced

    Reply

    1. Thanks for the positive comment!

      However, asking me to invert a third conditional without using “had” is like asking me to make hummus without using chickpeas. It can’t be done!
      🙂

      Reply

  46. I would like to know if this inversion is possible:
    -If you could travel back in time, which time in history would you want to visit?
    – Could you travel back in time, which time….?
    Thank you

    Reply

    1. Hi Ann,

      Not quite, but you’re on the right track.

      Remember – to invert the second conditional, you start with “Were” then subject then the infinitive.

      The tricky part here is that “can” is a modal verb and doesn’t have an infinitive form. So that’s when we jump to “be able to” instead:

      can –> be able to

      Now we can do what we want with it! “to be able to,” “being able to,” “have been able to,”…

      So, now you know that, can you try your sentence again? 🙂

      Reply

  47. This is such a amazing post, i’m sure it required so much time to be on point so i really appreciate it. Thank you!

    Reply

  48. Thanks for making this. It’s incredibly well done and so helpful! However I would prefer an exercise without the words on the side, because that would be more challenging for advanced students.

    Reply

  50. Hi. Thank you for your explanation. But I have a question. Can I say “Were I to be rich I woukd buy a big house in New York”. Is it true? Thank you in advance.

    Reply

  51. I was wring this sentence and it felt weird, is it some kind of inversion or conditional?

    “It just gets annoying and wears you down way quicker than it would had it been possible to just hold down the fire button for a continuous burst of shots.”

    Is it correct?

    Reply

  53. Hi all. I am an ESL student. I would highlight this particular case about the first conditional (Regardless the Inversion). I suppose it’s the first conditional, but I’m not really sure of it. Let me give you an example.
    Ex: Should you need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me, or please refer to me, etc…My question is about the second clause of the sentence. I would expect future rather than present form. Or is it an imperative form? Thanks in advance

    Reply

    1. Great question Roberto,

      Yes, it’s an imperative. It’s totally fine to use an imperative with the first conditional:
      – If he leaves early, break into his office and steal the key!
      – Let me know if you hear from him, yeah?

      Keep up the good work! 🙂

      Reply

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