Second and third conditionals

We have been studying conditionals for a couple of weeks, today we are going to see second conditional and third conditional in order to finish the conditional topic.

The Second Conditional

The second conditional uses the past simple after it, then 'would' and the infinitive:

·         if + past simple, ...would + infinitive

(We can use 'were' instead of 'was' with 'I' and 'he/she/it'. This is mostly done in formal writing).

It has two uses.

First, we can use it to talk about things in the future that are probably not going to be true. Maybe I'm imagining some dream for example.

·         If I won the lottery, I would buy a big house.(I probably won't win the lottery)

·         If I met the Queen of England, I would say hello.

·         She would travel all over the world if she were rich.

·         She would pass the exam if she ever studied.(She never studies, so this won't happen)

Second, we can use it to talk about something in the present  which is impossible, because it's not true. Is that clear? Have a look at the examples:

·         If I had his number, I would call him. (I don't have his number now, so it's impossible for me to call him).

·         If I were you, I wouldn't go out with that man.

Difference from 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 house with twenty bedrooms and a swimming pool (I'm probably not going to have this much money, it's just a dream, not very real)

But (first conditional): If I have enough money, I'll buy some new shoes (It's much more likely that I'll have enough money to buy some shoes)

Taken from: https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/second-conditional.html

The Third Conditional

We make the third conditional by using the past perfect after 'if' and then 'would have' and the past participle in the second part of the sentence:

·         if + past perfect, ...would + have + past participle

It talks about the past. It's used to describe a situation that didn't happen, and to imagine the result of this situation.

·         If she had studied, she would have passed the exam (but, really we know she didn't study and so she didn't pass)

·         If I hadn't eaten so much, I wouldn't have felt sick (but I did eat a lot, and so I did feel sick).

·         If we had taken a taxi, we wouldn't have missed the plane

·         She wouldn't have been tired if she had gone to bed earlier

·         She would have become a teacher if she had gone to university

·         He would have been on time for the interview if he had left the house at nine

Taken from: https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/third-conditional.html

We have seen all the theory, now let´s practice. Remember practice makes perfect!

Now that we have covered all the conditionals, it is time for a quick recap.