If I could fix my car, I could drive to the city. And if I
could drive to the city, I could find some parties!
And of course, the Conditional in the past means it is TOO LATE.
(S + COULD HAVE+ V3 + [then] S + COULD HAVE + V3)
If I could have studied more, I could have passed the
tests.
MUST
You will hear or see MUST occasionally in the Conditional, but usually it is in the IF clause.
(IF + S + MUST + V1 [then] S + MUST + V1)
If I must face
lions, I must use a large gun.
However, for must in the past, you would say "should have" as in: I should have studied.
There is a time to say must in the Past Perfect Continuous,
but (sit down), there it means a probability higher
than might. As in:
I must have been sleeping when he left.
MAY
Usually the conditionals MAY, MIGHT,
and MIGHT HAVE, are not used in the IF clause, but as a result
of what happens in the IF clause. MAY and MIGHT are often used
as degrees of conditionality, with MAY being of greater
probability than MIGHT in the future.
Future:
If you are nice to me, I may invite you to my house. OR
If you are nice to me, I might invite you to my house.
The conditional past is in fact the present.
What is now might have been different (if you had been nicer....:)
Past:
If you had been nice to me, I might have invited you to my
house.
You will be glad to know that these have been
changing with modern usage. The main thing is for you to be aware: If
the talk slips into the Conditional, you mustn't record it yet as fact.
End of Lesson W