Conditionals in English are sentence structures that we use to talk about results, causes, possibilities or hypothetical situations. They usually have two parts:
- Condition (if-clause) → the situation
- Result (main clause) → what happens because of that situation
How do we use and make the Second Conditional in English?
Use: imaginary, hypothetical or unlikely situations now or in the future
Structure: If + past simple, would + base form
For example:
- If she had a car, she would drive to work.
(unlikely, but possible) - If students used their phones less in class, they would learn more.
(unlikely, but possible) - If they invited us, we’d go.*
(unlikely, but possible) - If I didn’t need sleep, I wouldn’t go to bed.**
(imaginary and not possible because everybody needs sleep) - If we were taller, we would be able to reach the top shelf.
(imaginary and not possible because we cannot change our height) - If humans could fly, cities would look very different.***
(imaginary and not possible because humans cannot fly)
* “Would” becomes “‘d” in contractions. E.g. I would → I’d, we would → we’d.
** This is how we use contractions in negative clauses: did not → didn’t, would not → wouldn’t. It is possible to use the construction “I’d not go” (instead of “I wouldn’t go”), but this is not common in modern English.
*** ”Humans could fly” is not technically the past simple, but we can use “could” in if-clauses in the second conditional.
You can put the main clause first if you want. We often do this if we want to emphasise the result. When we do this, we do not usually use a comma.
For example:
- She would drive to work if she had a car.
- I would work all night if I didn’t need sleep.
Were/Was
We often use “were” instead of “was” for “I” and “he/she/it” in the second conditional. This is commonly used in formal contexts, but some people use it in everyday speech as well.
For example:
- If I were you, I would apologise to George.
- He would travel a lot if he were rich.
Other Modal Verbs
Sometimes we can use other modal verbs (could, may, might, should) instead of “would”.
For example:
- If she had a car, she could drive to work. (ability)
- If we moved to the city, we may find better jobs. (possibility)
- I might succeed if I tried harder. (possibility)
- He should improve quickly if he joined the team. (expected result)
Questions
We can use the second conditional in questions.
For example:
- If you won the lottery, what would you do?
- Who would you call if you needed help?
Comparisons
The first and second conditional can look similar, but they are used for very different kinds of situations. The important difference is how real or likely the situation is. We use the first conditional to talk about real, possible situations in the future. We use the second conditional to talk about imaginary, hypothetical or unlikely situations now or in the future.
Compare:
| First Conditional | If Franks studies, he will pass his exams. | real possibility |
| Second Conditional | If Frank studied, he would pass his exams. | imaginary or unlikely |
The second and third conditional are both used for unreal situations, but they are used for different times and have different meanings. We use the second conditional to talk about imaginary or unlikely things in the present and the future. We use the third conditional to talk about imaginary past situations (things that did not happen).
Compare:
| Second Conditional | If Frank studied, he would pass his exams. | imaginary or unlikely in the present or future |
| Third Conditional | If Frank had studied, he would have passed his exams. | impossible; imaginary situation in the past |
Spanish and Portuguese Translations
En: If Frank studied, he would pass his exams.
Sp: Si Frank estudiara, aprobaría sus exámenes.
Pt: Se Frank estudasse, ele passaria nos exames.