THE SECOND CONDITIONAL

The second conditional uses the past simple after if, then 'would' and the
infinitive:

 if + past simple, ...would + infinitive

(We can use 'were' instead of 'was' with 'I' and 'he/she/it'. This is mostly done in
formal writing).

It has two uses.

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)

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'll buy some new shoes (It's
much more likely that I'll have enough money to buy some shoes)

As we’ve seen in the previous articles about the Zero Conditional and
the First Conditional, there are four types of conditional sentence in
English. For many students, the second type is the most challenging
and tricky to learn to use. Read on to find out when and how we use it,
then practice with a fun quiz.

When to use the second conditional

The second conditional is used to express the consequence of an unrealistic
action or situation in the present or future. The situation can be:
  Very improbable (1-5% probability)
 Completely unrealistic (with a 0% probability)
For example,

If I won the lottery, I would travel around the world.

There is a very low probability (1% chance) that the first part of this sentence
(winning the lottery’) will happen. But if it happens, the second part is 100%
certain.

If I had more free time, I would play more sport.

I don’t have a lot of free time (0%), but in that case, the second part is 100%
certain.

How do we create the Second Conditional?

To make a sentence in the second conditional, we use,

If + past simple, would/wouldn’t + verb.

If I lived in a big city, I would go out more often.

If I lived in a big city, I wouldn’t need a car.

As with all conditionals, you can also invert this structure:

Would + verb if + past simple.

I’d go out more often if I lived in a big city.

I wouldn’t need a car if I lived in a big city.

As an alternative to would, we can complete the second part of

a second conditional sentence with could. For example,

If we lived in the city we could use the public transport.

An exception about the verb ‘to be’

When we use the verb ‘to be’ in the second conditional, the past form is
always were and not was for the subjects I, he, she and it. For example,

If I were rich, I’d spend all my time travelling.

If he were my boss, I’d look for another job.

If it weren’t so cold, we could go for a walk.

Nowadays you can often hear young native speakers use was instead
of were, especially in an informal context. But the correct form is were.
Understanding the second conditional
It can be tricky to understand when it’s right to use the second conditional
instead of the first. I think it helps to remember that we normally use the
second conditional when we talk about imaginary situations, dreaming
about possible situations and how we would act consequently. For example,

If we were rich, we could buy a big house near the sea.

What would you do if your company offered you a promotion in another

country?

He wouldn’t come to the party even if we invited him.

Here are some other examples of the second conditional:

If she studied harder she’d pass her exams easily.

What would you do if you won a lot of money?

I wouldn’t give up my job if I won a lot of money.

If we could ski we’d come with you to the mountains.

If people drove more carefully, there’d be fewer accidents.

I’d be amazed if he arrived on time. He’s always late.

Would they agree if we offered them a short delivery time?

If I found a burglar in my house I wouldn’t know what to do.

You could save time if you worked from home.

Polite requests
We also use the second conditional to make very polite requests. For
example,

Would you mind if I used your computer?

Would it be ok if we sat here?

Would it bother you if I closed the window?

The best way to become confident in using the second conditional is by

practicing it. So start now by doing a short quiz.
The second conditional (also called conditional type 2) is a
structure used for talking about unreal situations in the present or in
the future. This page will explain how the second conditional is
formed, and when to use it.

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.

Using the second conditional

The second conditional is used to talk about things which are unreal
(not true or not possible) in the present or the future -- things which
don't or won't happen:

Example Explanation

If I were you, I would drive more carefully in the rain. I am not you — this is unreal.

Paula would be sad if Jan left. Jan will not leave — that's not going to happen.

If dogs had wings, they would be able to fly. Dogs don't have wings — that's impossible.
The second conditional is like the first conditional. We
are still thinking about the future. We are thinking about
a particular condition in the future, and the result of this
condition. But there is not a real possibility that this
condition will happen. For example, you do not have a
lottery ticket. Is it possible to win? No! No lottery ticket,
no win! But maybe you will buy a lottery ticket in the
future. So you can think about winning in the future, like
a dream. It's not very real, but it's still possible.

i condition result
f

Past Simple would + base

verb

I I won the I would buy a

f lottery, car.

Notice that we are thinking about a future condition. We

use the Past Simple tense to talk about the future
condition. We use would + base verb to talk about the
future result. The important thing about the second
conditional is that there is an unreal possibility that the
condition will happen.

Look at these example sentences:

i condition result
f

Past Simple would + base verb

I I married Mary, I would be happy.

f
i condition result
f

Past Simple would + base verb

I Ram became she would marry

f rich, him.

I it snowed next would you be

f July, surprised?

I it snowed next what would you

f July, do?