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The Structure of A Second Conditional Sentence: Main Clause

The second conditional is used to talk about unreal or hypothetical situations in the present or future. [1] It consists of an "if" clause using the past simple tense and a main clause using "would" plus the base verb. [2] Examples are given where the condition expressed in the "if" clause is not possible or likely to happen. [3] The second conditional allows us to discuss potential results or dreams that are not grounded in reality.

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93 views4 pages

The Structure of A Second Conditional Sentence: Main Clause

The second conditional is used to talk about unreal or hypothetical situations in the present or future. [1] It consists of an "if" clause using the past simple tense and a main clause using "would" plus the base verb. [2] Examples are given where the condition expressed in the "if" clause is not possible or likely to happen. [3] The second conditional allows us to discuss potential results or dreams that are not grounded in reality.

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bigorosiano
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© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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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
I am not you -- this is unreal.
carefully in the rain.
Jan will not leave -- that's not
Paula would be sad if Jan left.
going to happen.

If dogs had wings, they would be Dogs don't have wings -- that's
able to fly. impossible.

Second Conditional: unreal possibility or dream

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.

IF condition result

  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.

Here are some more examples:

IF condition result

  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 IF condition

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?

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.

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