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Second conditional English grammar can help you to create more complex expressions. Improve your fluency and sophistication in English!

How do you form the second conditional tense in English?

Did you know there are three uses for it?

The second conditional requires us to construct a sentence in\\xa0two parts.

The second conditional uses if then the\\xa0past simple\\xa0tense then \\u2018would\\u2019 and the\\xa0infinitive:

• if + past simple, \\u2026would + infinitive

(It is considered most correct to use \\u2018were\\u2019 instead of \\u2018was\\u2019 with \\u2018I\\u2019 and \\u2018he/she/it\\u2019. However, native speakers often say \\u2018was.\\u2019).

The second conditional tense has\\xa0three\\xa0uses.

SECOND CONDITIONAL ENGLISH GRAMMAR FOR FUTURE IMPROBABILITY

First,\\xa0we can use it to talk about things in the future that are probably not going to be true. It is unlikely but not entirely impossible. Maybe there is a 1% chance. For example, you want to talk about a dream you\\u2019re imagining.

• If I\\xa0won\\xa0the lottery, I\\xa0would buy\\xa0a big house. (I probably won\\u2019t win the lottery)
• He\\xa0would travel\\xa0all over the world if he\\xa0were\\xa0rich. (He is not rich, so he doesn\\u2019t travel the world)
• She\\xa0would pass\\xa0the exam if she\\xa0studied. (She does not study much, so this won\\u2019t happen)
• If I\\xa0had\\xa0a million dollars, I\\xa0would invest\\xa0it wisely to make it last a long time!

SECOND CONDITIONAL ENGLISH GRAMMAR FOR PRESENT IMPOSSIBILITY

Second,\\xa0we can use it to talk about something in the present which is impossible, because it\\u2019s not true. Let\\u2019s take a look at some examples to clarify:

• If I\\xa0had\\xa0his number, I\\xa0would call\\xa0him. (I don\\u2019t have his number now, so it\\u2019s impossible for me to call him).
• You\\xa0would have\\xa0more money if you\\xa0did not spend\\xa0it all on silly things.
• If she\\xa0had\\xa0more free time, she\\xa0would cook\\xa0all her meals at home.

SECOND CONDITIONAL ENGLISH GRAMMAR FOR SUGGESTIONS AND OPINIONS

Third,\\xa0we can use the second conditional to express our opinions \\u2013 to give advice, suggestions and recommendations.

• If I\\xa0were\\xa0you, I\\xa0would not\\xa0do business\\xa0with that man.
• I\\xa0would study\\xa0harder if I were you.
• If I *was you, I\\xa0would buy\\xa0some new socks.

Remember that the correct formation of the second conditional uses \\u201cwere.\\u201d However, also remember that many native speakers use \\u201cwas\\u201d instead.

How is this different from the first conditional?

This kind of conditional sentence is different from the first conditional because this is a lot more unlikely.

For example (second conditional): If I had enough money, I would buy a nice house by the ocean (I\\u2019m probably not going to have this much money anytime soon, it\\u2019s just a dream, not very real for now at least)

But (first conditional): If I have enough money, I\\u2019ll buy some new shoes (It\\u2019s much more likely that I\\u2019ll have enough money to buy some shoes)