What is the Second Conditional in English Grammar?

What is the second conditional? How do you form the second conditional
structure in English grammar? In this Teaching Wiki, we take an in-depth look at
the second conditional, its structure and its various uses in English. We also
suggest some great resources to help you teach this topic.

What is the second conditional?

The second conditional is one of the four types of conditional sentences we use
in English. Each type of conditional sentence has its own specific purposes and
usage rules.

The second conditional has four different purposes. These are:

• To talk about an unlikely or unrealistic situation in the present or

future;

• To ask hypothetical questions;

• To give advice;

• To make polite requests.

We’ll take a look at each of these purposes once we’ve learned how to form a
second conditional sentence.

Second conditional structure in English grammar

There is a very specific second conditional structure in English grammar. We
form a second conditional sentence like this:
If + past simple, + would / wouldn’t + infinitive verb

For example, ‘If I could drive, I’d buy a car.’

We can also invert the second conditional structure so it looks like this:

Would / wouldn’t + infinitive verb + if + past simple

For example, ‘I'd buy a car if I could drive.’

If we’re using the second conditional to ask a question, we form it like this:

Would + infinitive verb + if + past simple?

An example of this would be, ‘Would you mind if I borrowed your coat?’

We can also invert this structure, just as we would in a sentence, so the

question becomes, ‘If I borrowed your coat, would you mind?’

We’ve used the modal verb ‘would’ in all these examples. However, when using
the second conditional, we can sometimes substitute ‘would’ for other modal
verbs such as ‘could’ or ‘should’.

‘If I learnt to drive, I could go on a road trip around Europe.’

We should also mention how to use the verb ‘to be’ in the second conditional.
While it might sound a little too formal in some circumstances, it’s grammatically
correct to use ‘were’ instead of ‘was’ when using the second conditional. This is
because hypothetical statements and questions use the subjunctive form. An
example of this is, ‘If I were rich, I’d buy a big house.’

Now that we know how to form the second conditional structure in English
grammar, let’s take a look at all the different ways we can use it.

Using the second conditional to talk about the present or

future

We only use the second conditional to talk about something in the present or
future that is either impossible or highly improbable. It’s a hypothetical way of
speaking, wondering about how our lives would look if circumstances were
different.

To see how this works, we can look at our earlier example: ‘If I could drive, I’d
buy a car.’ The person speaking obviously can’t drive at present, so they’re
speaking hypothetically about a situation which is currently impossible.

Some more examples of this usage are:

 • ‘He could do really well at school if he studied harder.’ He evidently
isn’t studying hard at the moment, so again, this is hypothetical and
currently impossible.

• ‘She wouldn’t come to the party if she was invited.’ As she hasn’t
been invited, it’s not possible for her to go to the party. This is a
hypothetical statement, as the person making it will never find out if
it’s true or not.

• ‘If I were Prime Minister, I’d give everyone free sweets.’ There isn’t
much chance that the person speaking will ever be Prime Minister -
it’s theoretically possible in the future, but highly unlikely.

Using the second conditional to ask hypothetical questions

The second conditional is the standard device we use to ask hypothetical, ‘what
if…?’ questions. We’ve seen how to structure the question form of the second
conditional above. Here are some examples so you can see how it works in
practice.

• ‘If you won a million pounds, what would you do with it?’

• ‘If you could only take three things with you to a desert island, what
would they be?’

• ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we had superpowers?’

• ‘Would you be someone else for a day if you could?’

• ‘If Tom were taller, could he have been a professional tennis

player?’

All these questions are being asked about things that are either impossible or
highly unlikely. We’re allowing ourselves to imagine and speculate by using the
second conditional.

Using the second conditional to give or ask for advice

We can use the second conditional to demonstrate empathy and give advice, or
ask for advice from others. Here’s how it’s done.

• ‘If I were you, I wouldn’t quit my job.’

• ‘If I were in her position, I’d say no.’

• ‘You wouldn’t say those things if you knew all the facts.’

• ‘What would you do if you were in my shoes?’

Using the second conditional to make polite requests

The second conditional is the correct form to use when we’re asking someone
for something politely. We can see an example of this above, in the question,
‘Would you mind if I borrowed your coat?’

Other examples include:

• ‘Would it be a problem if I brought my friend with me?’

• ‘Would it be OK if we got a lift home?’

How to teach the second conditional

All children, whether they’re learning English as their first language or an

additional language, need to learn how to use the second conditional - we all
use it a lot more often than we realise! This is why the in-house Twinkl teachers
have created some helpful resources to make this topic easier for children. Here
are just a few materials and activities you can use as part of your lesson plans
on the second conditional structure in English grammar.

• This Second Conditional Guided Discovery is a great place to start.

It takes children through all the different steps of communicating in
the second conditional, including showing them the right vocabulary
to use.

• As a fun follow-on activity, you can use this Second Conditional

Chain Game. Children have to think of hypothetical situations, then
build on each one by linking it to another one. It leads to some
great scenarios that they’ll enjoy sharing with the class.

• Your primary classes can also have lots of fun with this If I Were
Queen or King for a Day Worksheet. See just how outlandish their
ideas would be if they actually got to run the country and could do
whatever they wanted!

• And, if you’re also teaching the other conditionals, this

colourful First Conditional PowerPoint is a great way to introduce
the topic. It offers plenty of examples so children can see how to
get the first conditional right.