2. The Second Conditional (Part 1) – English Grammar Guide

This is Part 1 of a three-part series. Click these links to see Part 2 and Part 3 of The Second Conditional after you watch this video.

Transcript

Our grammar point for today is the second conditional. We’ll begin by looking at some sample sentences, and then we’ll look at the structure.

Here’s our first example sentence:

• If I won the lottery, I would go on a round-the-world trip!

Or, more naturally:

• If I won the lottery, I’d go on a round-the-world trip!
• If I found a million dollars on the street, I’d hand it in to the police.
• If Superman and Iron Man had a fight, Superman would clearly win.

Now, let’s look at those sentences a little bit more closely. Each of those sample sentences has two parts: a condition and a result:

• If I found a million dollars on the street (condition), I’d hand it in to the police (result).

Let’s return to our first sentence:

• If I won the lottery, I’d go on a round-the-world trip!

Which part is the condition? That’s right! The condition is: If I won the lottery. And the result? I’d go on a round-the-world trip. To construct the condition, we use the past simple (if I found), and to construct the result, we use would + verb (I would go or I’d go).

We can also reverse the two parts:

• I’d go on a round-the-world trip if I won the lottery.

Here, the result comes first (I’d go on a round-the-world trip) and the condition comes second (if I won the lottery). Notice that the condition still uses the past simple (if I won) and the result still uses would + verb (I’d go). Also notice that the comma disappears.

Examples

OK, let’s look at some more sample sentences:

• If I got into Oxford University, I’d be delighted (but I doubt I will)!
• I doubt I will, but I’d be delighted if I got into Oxford University!
• If I had more free time, I’d spend it with my family.
• I’d spend more time with my family if I had it.
• If I could have just one superpower, I’d choose invisibility.
• I’d choose invisibility if I could have just one superpower.

OK, over to you! Try making your own second conditional sentences in the comments section below. We look forward to hearing from you.

Don’t forget to click the links to watch the next parts in this series The Second Conditional (Part 2) and Part 3.

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