In this section, you will explore the second conditional. Like first conditional sentences, second conditional sentences are made of two smaller sentences joined together by the conjunction if. Unlike the first conditional, one sentence in the second conditional uses the past tense, and the other one uses the auxiliary verb would. Look at the following example:
I would buy
a Ferrari
if
I had
a lot of money
Second conditional sentences are used to express an event that could take place under specific conditions that are not true at present. That is why we say that the second conditional expresses hypothetical situations.
By the end of this topic, you will recognise, practice and use the second conditional (if + past, would + base form of the verb) to express and give advice in hypothetical situations in the present.
In this lesson, watch this video, and you will find an explanation of the main topic.
Diagnostic activity: Remember the verbs.
the video goes here
Before you start practising the second conditional, let’s review the verbs in past form.
Now that you have remembered the past form of the verbs let’s practice the second conditional.
In this game, you have to match the halves correctly to smash the clown.
Have you pictured yourself doing something more interesting instead of wasting your time? Having a healthy life is a decision we all should make so we can have a better life.
Clark is a guy whose lifestyle isn’t the best. How would his life be if he did things differently? Read about him and then complete the sentences with the correct form of the verb in parenthesis.
Clark is a guy who usually gets sick because he doesn’t have a healthy lifestyle. He eats lots of junk food and smokes a pack of cigarettes a day. Apparently, he doesn’t do exercise. He is a couch potato. He is always sitting on the couch watching movies and series on Netflix. He is overweight, so he isn’t that confident. He is very shy and doesn’t go out very often because he doesn’t have many friends. Most of the time, he is depressed, so he eats junk food and drinks pop to feel better. This is a never-ending story! Poor Clark!
We’ve all been in a situation we don’t know what to do, and we would love it if somebody gave us some advice.
Niño pensando. (2016). Medio en serio, medio en broma. Retrieved 11 December 2016, from https://medioenseriomedioenbroma.wordpress.com/2014/11/28/educar-a-ser-emprendedores-o-simplemente-mejores-personas/nino-pensando/
a) Imagine you’re in these situations. Write at least 2 sentences to explain what and why would you do in each case. Start the sentence with If I + the situation.
What would you do if...?
b) What would you do if you were in these people’s shoes? Give advice to them and explain why you would do that. Write sentences beginning: If I were you…
Give advice
Activity 1
Some people want to study something they like, but they are not able to do so. Maybe it’s because it’s a family tradition (they come from a family where the members studied Medicine, Economics, or Law). It could be because of social pressure (if you do not study a major, you won't earn a lot of money).
Part 1
Were you in this situation? If you could study another major, what would it be?
Part 2
Read the text A career for a legacy. Click here to see the text.
Read the statements and choose True (T) or False (F), according to the text. Click on the Activity 2 button to start the activity.
Part 3
Look at the definitions of the words and match them with the correct word.
Activity 2
Most of the time, we, citizens complain about the bad use politicians give to our money or that they aren’t competent when they are ruling the city/country, etc.
Part 1
Do you think that the decisions politicians make affect our lives? How come and in what ways do they affect us?
Taxi Driver. (2013). NYC. Taken from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pennuja/
Part 2
Ángel Revilla is a Venezuelan taxi driver working in New York. We interviewed him during his lunchtime. We asked him to tell us what he would do if he were the President of his country. This is what he said.
Click here to hear the audio file:
Some people work really hard for a while. After having saved some money, they stop working and get away looking for adventures, without caring about time and money.
Scott Rodriguez, B. (2016).Scott.Fotografía interna.
Activity 1
Read a blog entry about Scott, a guy who’s going on a crazy adventure.
Click here to read the text from his blog.
Activity 2
What do you think about his decision of taking a gap year to go on an adventure before getting married? Why do you think people from other countries can make this kind of decisions without hesitating? Could you do the same?
Activity 3
Imagine you could take a gap year and you could do whatever you wanted during that time. You don’t have to worry about money because you have enough to get through the year. What would you do and where would you go during that year?
Write a 100-130 word text about it. Don’t forget to use the second conditional.
Check the information on the rubrics to self-evaluate your writing. Check the flow of ideas, punctuation, spelling, grammar and vocabulary.
Activity 4
Check the information on the rubrics to self-evaluate your writing. Check the flow of ideas, punctuation, spelling, grammar and vocabulary.
Do you remember the audio from the listening section? It was about a taxi driver who was talking about the situation in his country and the things he would do and would change if he were the President. If you don’t, click here to listen to it again.
Winter Political Speech in Large Warm Hall. flickr.com/photos/ambientjohn/
Activity 1
Think about the situation in your country. Is it good or bad? What ideas do you think politicians would have to take into account to change or to improve your country situation?
Think about the following areas: Economy, Education, Transportation, Health Care, Agricultural Sector, Communications, Security, Laws, etc.
Activity 2
Imagine you’re the President of your country. Record yourself in a 3-5 minutes audio talking about how different life in your country would be if you made some changes. Use the ideas from exercise 1.
Once you have recorded your audio, evaluate yourself with the rubrics.
You’ve already finished this lesson. Now it’s time for a quick quiz to test what you’ve learnt about the second conditional.
Read the statements and choose the correct option to complete them.
Choose the best option for the following statements. You can know your score at the end of the exercise.
• Anon, (2016). [online] Available at: https://www.usingenglish.com/glossary/2nd-conditional.html [Accessed 1 Oct. 2016].
• Merriam-webster.com. (2016). Dictionary and Thesaurus | Merriam-Webster. [online] Available at: https://www.merriam-webster.com/ [Accessed 6 Oct. 2016].
• Grammar.cl. (2016). If I were you - English Grammar. [online] Available at: https://www.grammar.cl/english/if-i-were-you.htm [Accessed 8 Oct. 2016].
• Englishclub.com. (2016). Regular Verbs List | English Club. [online] Available at: https://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/regular-verbs-list.htm [Accessed 25 Oct. 2016].
• Englishclub.com. (2016). Irregular Verbs List | English Club. [online] Available at: https://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/irregular-verbs-list.htm [Accessed 25 Oct. 2016].
• Anon, (2016). [online] Available at: https://www.usingenglish.com/reference/irregular-verbs/ [Accessed 25 Oct. 2016].
• Learnenglishfeelgood.com. (2016). Second Conditional in English - Exercise 2 | English conditional tenses practice. [online] Available at: https://www.learnenglishfeelgood.com/grammar-secondconditional2.html [Accessed 25 Oct. 2016].
• Perfect-english-grammar.com. (2016). Second Conditional Exercise 1. [online] Available at: https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/second-conditional-exercise-1.html [Accessed 25 Oct. 2016].
• LyricsTraining. (2016). Beyoncé - If I Were A Boy | Vídeo Musical, Letra de la Canción y Karaoke. [online] Available at: https://es.lyricstraining.com/play/beyonce/if-i-were-a-boy/Hg21St7USg# [Accessed 11 Nov. 2016].