Second & Third Conditionals

Second & Third Conditionals

Observe the examples:

• If there were more buses, we would leave the car at home.

• If I knew how to cook, I wouldn't eat out so often.

• If my mother didn't wake me up, I'd be late for class every morning.

• I'd go to bed earlier if I were you.

Poll

Mark the rules of the Second Conditional you think are correct.

• We use the second conditional to talk about hypothetical or imaginary situations.

• We use the second conditional to refer to situations that aren't likely to happen in the present or future.

• The form of the second conditional is: [If + present simple] + [would + verb in the base form].

• "Was" should be used in the If clause with all persons, in formal situations.

• We use a comma (,) when the if clause comes first in the sentence.

Observe the examples.

• If the weather had improved, we could have gone for a walk.

• If we had known Mary was sick, we would have visited her.

• I might have called you if you had given me your number.

• If I hadn't missed the plane, I'd have landed in Paris by now.

Poll

Mark the rules of the Third Conditional you think are correct.

• We use the third conditional when we imagine a different past, where something did or did not happen, and we imagine a different result.

• We use If + past perfect in the if clause.

• We use a modal verb with future-in-the-past meaning (would/might/could) + have + past participle form in the main clause.

Open your book to page 18 now.