GRAMMAR
The second conditional
- If it is hot today, I will go swimming.
- If I had a lot of money, I would buy a big house.
The Second Conditional
The second conditional uses the past simple after if, then 'would' and the infinitive:
- if + past simple, ...would + infinitive
It has two uses:
1-First, we can use it to talk about things in the future that are probably not going to be true. Maybe I'm imagining some dream for example.
- If I won the lottery, I would buy a big house.(I probably won't win the lottery)
- If I met the Queen of England, I would say hello.
- She would travel all over the world if she were rich.
- She would pass the exam if she ever studied.(She never studies, so this won't happen)
2-Second, we can use it to talk about something in the present which is impossible, because it's not true. Is that clear? Have a look at the examples:
- If I had his number, I would call him. (I don't have his number now, so it's impossible for me to call him).
- If I were you, I wouldn't go out with that man.
How is this different from the first conditional?
This kind of conditional sentence is different from the first conditional because this is a lot more unlikely.
For example (second conditional):
If I had enough money, I would buy a house with twenty bedrooms and a swimming pool.
(I'm probably not going to have this much money, it's just a dream, not very real)
But (first conditional):
If I have enough money, I will buy some new shoes.
(It's much more likely that I'll have enough money to buy some shoes)
The structure of a second conditional sentence
Like a first conditional, a second conditional sentence consists of two clauses, an “if” clause and a main clause:
|
“If” clause |
Main clause |
|
If I had a million dollars, |
I would buy a big house. |
If the “if” clause comes first, a comma is usually used. If the “if” clause comes second, there is no need for a comma:
|
Main clause |
“If” clause |
|
I would buy a big house |
if I had a million dollars. |
We use different verb forms in each part of a second conditional:
|
“If” clause |
if + subject + simple past verb |
|
Main clause |
subject + would + verb |
*Note that this "simple past" form is slightly different from usual in the case of the verb BE. Whatever the subject, the verb form is "were", not "was": If I were rich, I'd buy a big house.
(We can use 'were' instead of 'was' with 'I' and 'he/she/it'. This is mostly done in formal writing).