Conditional

A.
The Second Conditional
The second conditional is used to imagine present or future situations that are impossible or unlikely in
reality. The second conditional uses the past simple after if, 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).
We use the second conditional to express an imaginary and unreal situation and its result in the present
or future.
It has two uses.
 First, we can use it to talk about things in the future or in the present that are probably not going to be
true. Simply, it is for expressing unrealistic or impossible situations. 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.
 Second, we can use it in giving advices or suggestions. Have a look at the examples:
If I were you, I wouldn't go out with that man.

Annie wouldn’t do the same thing, if she were Ashley. (were is used for I, he, she in writing 2nd
Conditional).
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 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.
•Assessment
Answer the questions about you. Use the second conditional sentence in your answers.
1. Who would you talk to if you could travel back in time?
2. Where would you go on holiday if you could travel anywhere?
3. What would you say if you met an alien from another planet?
4. How would you feel if you were the only person on earth?
5. What would you print if you had a 3D printer?
6. What would you buy if you were very, very rich?
7. What would you do if you could choose any job in the world?
8. Would you be happy if you had a pet dinosaur?
9. If the weather was good what would you do?
10. What would you buy if you had a lot of money?
•Assessment
Make a second conditional sentence and complete the following sentences.
If I (be) you, I (get) a new job. ...

If he be younger, he. ...
If we (not/be) friends, I (be) angry with you. ...
If I (have) enough money, I. ...
If she (not/be) always so late, she. ...
ANSWER KEY
Answers may vary.
B. 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 (had+
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. In other words, this kind of conditional expresses regret. Third
conditional statements and questions refer to only past events, while the socond conditional references
the future.
Examples:
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 and I regretted
it).
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.
•Assesment
Activity 1. Change it into a correct verb of conditional sentence.
1) If you (not/be) late, we (not/miss) the bus.
2) If she (study) she (pass) the exam.
3) If we (arrive) earlier, we (see) John.
4) If they (go) to bed early, they (not/wake) up late.
5) If he (become) a musician, he (record) a CD.
6) If she (go) to art school, she (become) a painter.
7) If I (be) born in a different country, I (learn) to speak a different language.
8) If she (go) to university, she (study) French.
9) If we (not/go) to the party, we (not/meet) them.
10) If he (not/take) the job, he (go) travelling.
Activity 2.
Make a one paragraph using third conditional sentence based from your experiences or regrets.
Activity 3.
Differentiate the second conditional sentence and third conditional sentence.
•ANSWER KEY
Activity 1.
1. [ hadn't been ][ wouldn't have missed ]
2. [ had studied ][ would have passed ]
3. [ had arrived ][ would have seen ]
4. [ had gone ][ wouldn't have woken ]
5. [ had become ][ would have recorded ]
6. [ had gone ][ would have become ]
7. [ had been ][ would have learned
8.[ had gone ][ would have studied ]
9. [ hadn't gone ][ wouldn't have met ]
10. [ hadn't taken ][ would have gone ]
Activity 2.
(Answers may vary)
Activity 3.
(Answers may vary)

Conditional

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A.

The Second Conditional

It has two uses.

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

How is this different from the first conditional?

2. Where would you go on holiday if you could travel anywhere?

5. What would you print if you had a 3D printer?

6. What would you buy if you were very, very rich?

8. Would you be happy if you had a pet dinosaur?

9. If the weather was good what would you do?

10. What would you buy if you had a lot of money?

Make a second conditional sentence and complete the following sentences.

If I (be) you, I (get) a new job. ...

If we (not/be) friends, I (be) angry with you. ...

If I (have) enough money, I. ...

If she (not/be) always so late, she. ...

Answers may vary.

B. The Third Conditional

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

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

1) If you (not/be) late, we (not/miss) the bus.

2) If she (study) she (pass) the exam.

3) If we (arrive) earlier, we (see) John.

4) If they (go) to bed early, they (not/wake) up late.

5) If he (become) a musician, he (record) a CD.

6) If she (go) to art school, she (become) a painter.

7) If I (be) born in a different country, I (learn) to speak a different language.

8) If she (go) to university, she (study) French.

9) If we (not/go) to the party, we (not/meet) them.

10) If he (not/take) the job, he (go) travelling.

Differentiate the second conditional sentence and third conditional sentence.

1. [ hadn't been ][ wouldn't have missed ]

2. [ had studied ][ would have passed ]

3. [ had arrived ][ would have seen ]

4. [ had gone ][ wouldn't have woken ]

5. [ had become ][ would have recorded ]

6. [ had gone ][ would have become ]

7. [ had been ][ would have learned

8.[ had gone ][ would have studied ]

9. [ hadn't gone ][ wouldn't have met ]

10. [ hadn't taken ][ would have gone ]

(Answers may vary)

(Answers may vary)

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