Second Conditional

Second Conditional

By Adriënne Riemersma

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 I won the lottery, I would buy a new car.

Sentence order

There are 2 ways to form the second conditional sentence. ​

​

You can put the "if"-sentence first, but also at the end. Remember that if in the first part, means a comma. ​If in the second part, means no comma!

​

If Sarah married Tom, she would be happy. (comma!)

​

Sarah would be happy if she married Tom. ​(no comma!)

Let op!

Bij if-zinnen met I als onderwerp, dan krijgt I were en niet was!

If I were a princess, I would have 100 horses (and a handsome prince!)​

​

Form

We use the Past Simple (ww+ed/ 2e rijtje) tense to talk about the future condition. We use would + infinitive 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.

Fill in the Blanks

If he (have) more time, he (learn) karate.

Fill in the Blanks

If they (tell) their father, he (be) very angry.

Fill in the Blanks

She (spend) a year in the USA if it (be) easier to get a green card.

Fill in the Blanks

If I (live) on a lonely island, I (run) around naked all day.

Fill in the Blanks

We (help) you if we (know) how.