THE SECOND CONDITIONAL

 When we are thinking about a situation in the present or future

which is hypothetical, unlikely or unreal, we use:

IF + PAST VERB, WOULD + VERB (=CONDITIONAL VERB)

If I won the lottery (unlikely), I would buy a private aeroplane.

If your car broke down, where would you go for help?

THE SECOND CONDITIONAL
 We use a PAST verb but we are thinking about the present or future.

Tim and Sally like travelling but they are poor. I say:
If Tim and Sally were rich, they´d travel around the world.
(They are NOT rich – we are imagining a situation in the present)

Sally writes books but not many people buy them. I say:
If Sally wrote a best-selling book, she would be famous.
(unlikely in the present or future)
THE SECOND CONDITIONAL
 IF I / HE / SHE / IT WERE ... is gramatically CORRECT in second
conditional sentences.

If she were rich, she´d stop working.

But in informal English, people often use WAS. If she was rich, she´d
stop...

 We use IF I WERE YOU ... to give ADVICE:

If I were you, I wouldn´t buy that pullover.

If I were you, I´d study harder.