ESEMPI
When to use the second conditional
The second conditional is used to express the consequence of an
unrealistic action or situation in the present or future. Thesituation
can be:
Very improbable (1-5% probability)
Completely unrealistic (with a 0% probability)
For example,
If I won the lottery, I would travel around the world.
There is a very low probability (1% chance) that the first part of this
sentence (winning the lottery’) will happen. But if it happens, the
second part is 100% certain.
If I had more free time, I would play more sport.
I don’t have a lot of free time (0%), but in that case, the second part is
100% certain.
How do we create the Second
Conditional?
To make a sentence in the second conditional, we use,
If + past simple, would/wouldn’t + verb.
If I lived in a big city, I would go out more often.
If I lived in a big city, I wouldn’t need a car.
As with all conditionals, you can also invert this structure:
Would + verb if + past simple.
I’d go out more often if I lived in a big city.
I wouldn’t need a car if I lived in a big city.
As an alternative towould, we can complete the second part of
a second conditional sentence withcould.For example,
If we lived in the city we could use the public transport.
