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Unit 24: Eco-tourism
Second conditional

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Session 2

Have you ever wondered what would make you happier? I would be happier if I had more free time and a bit more money! What about you? We talk about unreal or imaginary situations (I don’t have much free time or money) using the second conditional. In this session you’ll see some examples and find out how to use it.

Sessions in this unit

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Session 2 score

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    Activity 1
  • 0 / 6
    Activity 2
  • 0 / 0
    Activity 3
  1. Activity 1
  2. Activity 2
  3. Activity 3

Activity 1

Would the world be better if…

... we all spoke the same language?

Do we all speak the same language? No, we don't – and at BBC Learning English we think that's a good thing. Everyone in the world speaking one language is an unreal or imaginary situation – it's not true. In English we can talk about these situations and their imagined consequences or results by using the second conditional. Maybe the world wouldn't be better if we all spoke the same language, but what about if we all recycled? What would things be like if we were younger or older? What about if animals ruled the world?

Listen to these examples of the second conditional and read our grammar explanation. Then see how well you do in our second conditional quiz!

Read the text and complete the activity

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Harry
If everyone reused their plastic bags at the supermarket, you'd see a lot less litter around in the countryside.

Mike
I'd be more relaxed if I had more free time.

Harry
If I were younger, I would probably quit my job and go travelling around the world. But I'm quite old, so I have a lot of responsibilities.

Mike
The world would be a better place if we all spoke more than one language.

Harry
If animals ruled the world, humans would have to respect them and work with them. We couldn't just keep them as pets or eat them.

Mike
If we all recycled more, we'd save a lot of money.

Harry
If I lived in Japan, I would eat sushi almost every day, but in London it's very expensive.

We use the second conditional in English to talk about unreal situations (or things we don't think will happen), and to talk about the possible results of these situations. It is made like this:

  •  if + past simple, … would + infinitive

Here are some examples:

  • If we all recycled more, there would be a lot less waste in the world.
  • If I lived in Japan, I'd eat sushi almost every day.

A conditional sentence has two parts. The if part tells us about the unreal or unlikely situation. The would part tells us the possible results of this situation.

  • If I lived in Japan, ... (This is the imaginary situation.)
  • ... I'd eat sushi almost every day. (This is the result of the imaginary situation.)

The two parts can come in any order. When the if part comes first in the sentence, we put a comma between the if part and the would part. You don’t use a comma when the would part comes first.

  • If I had more free time, I would be more relaxed.
  • I would be more relaxed if I had more free time.

To do

Time to see if you recognise the different parts of second conditional sentences! Try our matching activity!

Matching the conditional halves

6 Questions

Be a second conditional master - can you match the sentence halves?

Congratulations you completed the Quiz
Excellent! Great job! Bad luck! You scored:
x / y

Matching the conditional halves

6 Questions

Be a second conditional master - can you match the sentence halves?

Congratulations you completed the Quiz
Excellent! Great job! Bad luck! You scored:
x / y

Next

How did you do? Hopefully you got those all right! In the next activity you'll learn how to make the different forms of the second conditional - and you'll get a chance to test what you know.

Session Grammar

  • We use the second conditional in English to talk about unreal, imaginary or unlikely situations (like going on a dream holiday)

    It's made up of two parts:

    The hypothetical or unlikely part begins with if and is in the past simple

    If I had lots of money, I would travel all around the world.

    The second part (the possible result of the imaginary situation) is made with would + infinitive

    If I had lots of money, I would travel all around the world.

    The two parts can be in any order. When the would part is first, you dont need a comma between the two parts

    I would travel all around the world if I had lots of money.

    There are not two woulds in a second conditional sentence

    If I would have lots of money, I would travel all around the world. (WRONG)
    If I had lots of money, I would travel all around the world. (RIGHT)

View full grammar reference

Session Vocabulary

  • unreal
    not real

    imaginary
    something you create in your mind

    recycled
    used again, or changed into a usable material

View full vocabulary reference

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