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This question is about conditionals
If I had money, I would give it you
If I had money, I would have given it to you
But I've come across people mixing conditional 2 and 3 like
If I was there, I would have done that
What does this statement mean? Is it grammatically correct? I feel it should be like "If I had been there I would have done that."
It's entirely appropriate in some rather special circumstances. For instance, we can imagine a cellphone conversation:
A: Where are you?
B: I'm at school, Mom.
A: Really? You're not at the video arcade, are you?
B: I answered the phone, didn't I? If I was there, I wouldn't have done that. My phone can't pick up a signal at the arcade.
English grammar allows for far more conditional combinations than 3. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd conditionals are just the most common forms, presented in that way for the convenience of EFL learners.
The first clause of If I had been there, I would have done that is a counterfactual. The speaker was in fact not there.
By contrast, someone who says If I was there, I would have done that does not remember being there but hypothesises what she would have done if in fact she was.
This is a much less common scenario but is conceivable when speaking of events long ago:
If I was at the dance, I would have been the one standing by myself in the corner.
