Conditional Clauses – Part 2

[Second Conditional & Third Conditional]

Conditional Clauses are used to speculate about what could happen, what might have happened, and what
we wish would happen. In English, most sentences using the conditional contain the word if. Many
conditional forms in English are used in sentences that include verbs in one of the past tenses. This
Conditional Clauses are also called as Conditional Sentences or if Clauses. There are four types of
conditional clauses. They are

1. Zero Conditional

2. First Conditional

3. Second Conditional

4. Third Conditional

3. Second Conditional:

The second conditional is called the present unreal conditional. It is one of the four main English
conditional Clauses. It is used to represent hypothetical situations in the present. It is used to imagine,
dream, and wish.

Structure of Second Conditional:

In a second conditional sentence, the tense in the 'if' clause is the simple past, and the tense in the main
clause is the present conditional or the present continuous conditional. The structure of the Second
Conditional is as follows:
If + Simple Past + Would + Verb
Example:
If I won the lottery, I would buy a house.
In the above example, I had not won the lottery. I need to won the lottery before I buy a house. It is only a
dream at this stage. There is only a small chance that I could buy a house after winning the lottery.

Note: Sometimes, we use should, could or might instead of would.

Example:
If I won a million dollars, I could stop working.

In zero conditional sentences, the order of the clauses is not fixed. Even when we change the order the
order of the clauses by rearranging the pronouns and adjust punctuation, the meaning will not get
changed. In zero conditional sentences, we can replace "if" with "when", because both express general
truths.

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Examples:
If it rained, you would get wet.(or)
You would get wet if it rained.

If she fell, she would hurt herself. (or)

She would hurt herself if she fell.

Function:
The Second conditional refers to an unlikely or hypothetical condition and its probable result. These
sentences are not based on the actual situation.

 In second conditional sentences, the time is now or any time and the situation is hypothetical.
Examples:
She would travel all over the world if she were rich.
If you really loved me, you would buy me a platinum ring.
If I knew where she lived, I would go and see her.

 In case of subjunctive mood, it is very common to use if I were instead of if I was.

Examples:
If I were taller, I would buy this dress.
If I were you, I would give up smoking.
If I were a plant, I would love the rain.

 In second conditional sentences, we can also use modals in the main clause instead of "would" to
express the degree of certainty, permission, or a recommendation about the outcome.
Examples:
We might buy a larger house if we had more money
He could go to the concert if you gave him your ticket.
If he called me, I couldn't hear.

Formation of sentences:
1) Affirmative Sentences:
Examples:
If she studied more often, she would receive better test scores.
I would wear the blue shoes if I were you.
They would watch more movies if they had time.

2) Negative Sentences:
Examples:
If I did not work, I would watch TV all day.
If I won the lottery, I would not buy a car.
I would not work if I had more money.
I would sleep late every day if I didn’t work early.

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3) Interrogative Sentences:
Examples:
What would you do if you were me?
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you want to live?
Who would you like to meet, if you could meet anyone?

Uses of Second Conditional:

 Unreal situations in the present:

Examples:
If I were the teacher, I would make class shorter.
If I could fly, I would fly around the world.

 Imagined events:
Examples:
If I were rich, I would buy a private jet.
I would buy a car if I won the lottery.

 Impossible present situations:

Examples:
I would go to the party, if I didn’t have to work.
If I had more money, I would go to the restaurant.

Note: Use were for all subjects.

Examples:
If I were rich, I would not work.
If he were older, he would understand.

Difference between first conditional and Second Conditional:

The second kind of conditional sentence is different from the first conditional because this is a lot more
unlikely.

Second Conditional:
Example:
If I had enough money I would buy a house with twenty bedrooms and a swimming pool
In the above example, I'm probably not going to have this much money, so it's just a dream and is not
going to be very real.

First conditional:
Example:
If I have enough money, I'll buy some new shoes .
In the above example, it's much more likely that I'll have enough money to buy some shoes and it is not a
dream and it will be real.

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4. Third Conditional:
The third conditional is used for unreal situations in the past. This is why it is called the past unreal
conditional.

Structure of Third Conditional:

In a third conditional sentence, the tense in the 'if' clause is the past perfect, and the tense in the main
clause is the perfect conditional or the perfect continuous conditional. The perfect conditional of any
verb is composed of three elements: would + have + past participle

Have followed by the past participle is used in other constructions as well. So, it is called the perfect
infinitive.

The structure of the third Conditional is as follows:

if + Past Perfect + would have + Past Participle

In zero conditional sentences, the order of the clauses is not fixed. Even when we change the order the
order of the clauses by rearranging the pronouns and adjust punctuation, the meaning will not get
changed. In zero conditional sentences, we can replace "if" with "when", because both express general
truths.

Examples:
You would have passed your exam if you had worked harder.(or)
If you had worked harder, you would have passed your exam.

I would have believed you if you hadn't lied to me before. (or)

If you hadn't lied to me before, I would have believed you.

Function:
The third conditional is used to refer an impossible condition in the past and its probable result in the past.
These sentences are truly hypothetical and unreal, because it is now too late for the condition or its result
to exist. There is always some implication of regret with third conditional sentences. The reality is the
opposite of, or contrary to, what the sentence expresses.

In third conditional sentences, the time is the past and the situation is hypothetical.
 Examples:
If I had worked harder I would have passed the exam.
If I had known you were coming I would have baked a cake.
I would have been happy if you had called me on my birthday.

In third conditional sentences, we can also use modals in the main clause instead of "would" to express
the degree of certainty, permission, or a recommendation about the outcome.
 Examples:
If I had worked harder I might have passed the exam.

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 You could have been on time if you had caught the bus.
If he called you, you could go.

Contractions:
Both would and had can be contracted to 'd, which can be confusing if we are not confident with third
conditional sentences. There are two rules which gives the clear use of contractions in third conditional.
They are
would never appears in the if-clause so if 'd appears in the if clause, it must be abbreviating had.
had never appears before have so if 'd appears on a pronoun just before have, it must be
abbreviating would.

Examples:
If I'd known you were in hospital, I'd have visited you.(or)
If I had known you were in hospital, I would have visited you.

I'd have bought you a present if I'd known it was your birthday. (or)
I would have bought you a present if I had known it was your birthday.

If you'd given me your e-mail, I'd have written to you. (or)

If you had given me your e-mail, I would have written to you.

Formation of sentences:

1) Affirmative Sentences:
The affirmative sentences formed using would, could, should or might as follows:
Examples:
 Would:
If I had been you, I would have studied.
I would have bought a different jacket.

 Could:
If I had studied for the exam, I could have passed.
She could have gone if she had had more time.

 Should:
If you had known about the exam, you should have studied.
We should have seen a different movie.

 Might:
If he had studied harder for the exam, he might have passed.
Mary might have gone if you had asked her.

2) Negative Sentences:
Examples:
If I had not practiced, I would have failed the exam.

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 If I had studied, I would not have failed the exam.
She would not have gone to the party if she had needed to work.

3) Interrogative Sentences:
Examples:
What would you have done if you had been me?
Where would you have gone?
If it had rained, would you have had the picnic?

Note: Sometimes, we use should, could or might instead of would to form all the affirmative, Negative
and Interrogative Sentences.

Uses of Third Conditional:

There are three main uses of thirds conditional. They are:

 Imaginary Situations in the Past

Examples:
If I had gone to university, I would have studied medicine.
If I had studied for my exam, I would have passed.
I could have won the game if I had tried harder.

 Advice in the Past

Examples:
You should have saved your money.
You should have studied harder.
You should not have bought so many pairs of shoes.

 Sometimes, we give advice by showing what we would have done in the same situation.
Examples:
If I had been you, I would not have bought those shoes.
If I had been you, I would have quit.

Note: The combination of a modal verb and have are contracted to make the following words:
 Examples:
would’ve
could’ve
should’ve