ESL Library Second Conditional What is the conditional mood in English? We use the conditional mood for hypothetical situations. When we don’t know if something will happen, we make a guess about the outcome.
What is the second conditional? We use the second conditional for an unlikely or impossible outcome. This means the outcome probably wouldn’t happen because the condition can’t or probably won't happen.
An example of an unlikely situation is: If I won the lottery, I would buy a tropical island. Winning the lottery is a very unlikely condition, so the outcome of buying a tropical island would probably never happen. An example of an impossible situation is: If I had wings, I would fly up to the stars.
Since people don’t have wings, this condition is impossible, so the outcome of flying to the stars wouldn’t happen. The most common second conditional pattern is: if plus past, would plus verb. Don’t be confused by the past verb in the “if” clause!
We use the second conditional for a present or future situation. Note that we use a comma after the “if” clause. For example: If I were the leader of this country, I would make many changes.
The “if” clause doesn’t have to start the sentence. Another common pattern for the second conditional is: would plus verb, if plus past. Note that we don’t use a comma before the “if” clause.
For example: I would make many changes if I were the leader of this country. Did you notice that the past form of the Be verb is "were"? "Was” becomes “were” in the “if” clause of a second conditional sentence no matter what subject pronoun or noun is used.
Let’s look at some more examples of second conditional sentences in English. If you became the CEO of the company, you would make a lot more money. If our teacher just gave us the answers, we wouldn’t learn anything.
If I lived on the moon, I would have a great view of Earth. They would have money to travel if they sold their house. We would be very surprised if a celebrity came to our small hometown.
I’d stop eating junk food if my doctor told me to. Look at the picture. Say or write a sentence using the second conditional.
For example: If the children ate all that candy, they would feel sick. Now you try! If I were a dog, I would sleep and eat all day long.
I would spend more time with my family if I didn’t work so much. She would buy me a new car if she had a million dollars. If I had any musical talent, I would take piano lessons.
He would surf every day if he lived near a beach. Thanks for watching!
