Second Conditional in English Grammar

Second Conditional in English Grammar

by Nov 18, 2019English Grammar Tips, English Time Ask Elo

Second Conditional in English Grammar

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The Secret to English Vocabulary The second conditional in action – English grammar

 

 

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First Conditional in English Grammar

What is the second conditional (present unreal conditional) in English grammar?

Asked by @ Shahbaz Rao  (Community English Student)

Second Conditional in English Grammar

Answered by @ Elo Kasia

Elo Kasia is the English Mentor for  second Conditional in English GrammarEnglish Grammar and Speaking Academy” ,  Join now.

the second Conditional in English Grammar

second Conditional in English Grammar  @ Shahbaz Rao, Thank you for your question.

second Conditional in English Grammar  As usual, I will try to explain the difference using simple language and plenty of examples.

 

second Conditional in English Grammar

 

What are conditional sentences?
When do we use the second conditional?
Form of second conditional
What is the difference between the first and second conditional?
Short quizzes about The zero 0 Conditional in English Grammar

The 4 Types of Conditionals in English
Zero Conditional in English Grammar
First Conditional in English Grammar
Current Post –  Second Conditional in English Grammar
Third Conditional in English Grammar

First Conditional in English Grammar

What is the second conditional (possible conditional) in English grammar?

 

 

First Conditional in English Grammar

 

 

 

Daily grammar lesson with Elo Kasia. When do we use the 2nd conditional (present unreal conditional)? Easy explanation and plenty of examples.

 

 

 

 

First Conditional in English Grammar  What are conditional sentences?

 

 

Conditional sentences are used to talk about events and their results. They are made of a condition and a result. The two events are connected, as one event is a condition for the other event to happen.
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Conditional sentences are used to talk about events and their results and are made of two clauses, the condition clause and the main (result) clause.

The four main types of conditional sentences are factual conditional ( The 0 conditional ), possible conditional (Type 1 conditional ), present unreal conditional ( Type 2 conditional ) and past unreal conditional ( Type 3 conditional ).

 

Conditional Forms

  1. Factual conditional (zero conditional) / Form: Present Simple — Present Simple
  2. Possible conditional (first conditional) / Form: Present Simple — will + verb
  3. Present unreal conditional (second conditional) / Form: Past Simple — would + verb
  4. Past unreal conditional (third conditional) / Form: Past Perfect — would have +Past Participle
 

 

 

First Conditional in English Grammar  When do we use the second conditional?

 

 

The second conditional (also known as “present unreal conditional”) is used to imagine a different reality to what it is now.
 
 
It refers to the present or future, but we talk about situations which are impossible, improbable, imaginary, or unlikely to happen.
 
The conditional sentence is made of two clauses, the “if (condition) clause” and the “main (result) clause.” Note on punctuation: if your conditional sentence starts with the “if clause”, use a comma, however if you change the order and your “if clause” comes second, there is no need for a comma.

 

 

 

First Conditional in English Grammar  Form of second conditional

 

 

  • CONDITION: if + past simpleRESULT: would (might/could) + verb

 

 

Even though we talk about the present or future (even though imaginary), we use the past tense, which is often a difficult concept for many students.
 
 
 
 
The past simple tense is formed by adding +ed to the base verb for regular verbs. However, as many verbs in English are irregular you will need to memorize them.
 
 
 
 
As is the case with other conditionals, we can change the order of clauses.
 
 
 
‘Were’ is often used instead of ‘was’ with ‘I’ and ‘he/she/it’.

 

 

First Conditional in English Grammar Have a look at these examples:

 

 

Second conditional used for events which are improbable or highly unlikely
  • If I won the lottery, I would buy a big house.
  • If I were rich, I would travel the world.
  • If I were a chef, I would shout at everybody in the kitchen.
  • If I lived in Italy, I would eat pizza every day.
  • She would pass the exam if she studied hard.
  • Where would you go if you won a free plane ticket?

 

 

Second conditional used for events which are imaginary or impossible

 

  • If I had a superpower, I would like to be able to fly.
  • If I knew where they lived, I would go and see them.
  • They would visit their uncle more often if he didn’t live so far away.
  • I wouldn’t tell my friend the truth if I knew it would hurt them.
  • If you were an animal, which animal would you be? “I would be a lion.”

 

 

The second conditional is also used to give or ask for advice, when we imagine being somebody else.

 

  • I wouldn’t buy this car if I were you.
  • If I were you, I wouldn’t go to the party.
  • I wouldn’t make a fuss about the money if I were him.
  • What would you do if you were me?
  • How would you behave if you were in his shoes?

 

 

First Conditional in English Grammar  What is the difference between the first and second conditional?

 
 
 
Both the first and second conditional can refer to a future event. The main difference between the two is the degree of possibility.
 
 
With the second conditional, the event we talk about is much more unlikely (or even impossible) to happen. The easy way to remember the difference is to use “possible conditional” and “present unreal” instead of 1st and 2nd conditional.
 
 
 
Compare these two sentences:
 
 
 
If I pass the test, I will be really happy. (I have a good chance of passing the test)
 
If I passed the test, I would be really happy. (I don’t have much chance of passing it)
 
 
 
Or
 
 
 
If I had a lot of money, I would move to another country. (very unlikely)
 
If/When/As soon as I have enough money, I will buy a new pair of shoes. (likely)

 

 

Second conditional sentences are also used to make a request sound more polite. As politeness is very important in English, it is recommended that you use the second form as much as possible.

 

 

Compare these two sentences:

 

 

Will it be alright if I take your car? (Direct request, informal)

Would it be alright if I took your car? (Polite request, formal)

 

 

 

Make sure you follow our *TT exercises to practice different types of conditional sentences.

 

With the second conditional the easiest and fun way to practice is to imagine a different reality, different present from what we live, i.e. “If I had a lot of money, I would…”, “If I lived in a big house, I would …”, “If I was/were young again, I would …” and so on and so forth. Let your imagination run wild.

 

 

Check my other articles here: All English Time Ask Elo – Learning Articles

 

 

First Conditional in English Grammar English Grammar Test Time (TT)

 

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If he asked me, I ____ “yes!”

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Would you mind if I ___ you a question?

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If I ____ you, I would never trust this man.

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Who_____ you call first if you won a lottery?

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I wouldn’t know what to do if my car ___ down.

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