Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • Second Conditional

    Uploaded by

    Rodriguez Banda Guillermo A
    37 views5 pages
    The second conditional uses past tense in the if-clause and "would" plus the base verb in the then-clause to talk about unreal or improbable hypothetical situations in the future. It differs from the first conditional in that the condition expressed in the if-clause is considered less likely or possible to occur. Some examples provided are "If I won the lottery, I would buy a big house" and "If I had his number, I would call him." The second conditional is used to talk about unlikely future events or presently impossible situations.

    Original Description:

    Original Title

    SECOND CONDITIONAL

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Report this Document
    The second conditional uses past tense in the if-clause and "would" plus the base verb in the then-clause to talk about unreal or improbable hypothetical situations in the future. It differs from the first conditional in that the condition expressed in the if-clause is considered less likely or possible to occur. Some examples provided are "If I won the lottery, I would buy a big house" and "If I had his number, I would call him." The second conditional is used to talk about unlikely future events or presently impossible situations.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    37 views5 pages

    Second Conditional

    Uploaded by

    Rodriguez Banda Guillermo A
    The second conditional uses past tense in the if-clause and "would" plus the base verb in the then-clause to talk about unreal or improbable hypothetical situations in the future. It differs from the first conditional in that the condition expressed in the if-clause is considered less likely or possible to occur. Some examples provided are "If I won the lottery, I would buy a big house" and "If I had his number, I would call him." The second conditional is used to talk about unlikely future events or presently impossible situations.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 5

    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)
    Second Conditional
    for unreal possibility

    If I won the lottery, I would buy a car.

    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

    If I won the lottery, I would buy a 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

    If I married Mary, I would be happy.

    If Ram became rich, she would marry him.

    If it snowed next July, would you be surprised?

    If it snowed next July, what would you do?

    result i condition
    f

    would + base verb   Past Simple

    I would be happy if I married Mary.

    She would marry Ram if he became rich.

    Would you be surprised if it snowed next July?


    result i condition
    f

    would + base verb   Past Simple

    What would you do if it snowed next July?

    Sometimes, we use should, could or might instead of would, for example: If


    I won a million dollars, I could stop working.

    Mini Quiz
    1. The second conditional is used if there is _______ that the condition will
    happen.

     no possibility
     little real possibility
     a real possibility

    2. "If we _______ free, we'd go with you." Which is correct?

     were
     are
     had been

    3. "If Justin _______ me to marry him, I'd say yes." Which makes this a
    correct second conditional sentence?
     asks
     asked
     had asked

    You might also like