The second conditional is like the first conditional. We are still thinking about the future. We are thinking about a particular condition in the future, and the result of this condition. But there is not a real possibility that this condition will happen. For example, you do not have a lottery ticket. Is it possible to win? No! No lottery ticket, no win! But maybe you will buy a lottery ticket in the future. So you can think about winning in the future, like a dream. It's not very real, but it's still possible.

IF conditionresult
past simpleWOULD + base verb
If I won the lotteryI would buy a car.

Notice that we are thinking about a future condition. We use the past simple tense to talk about the future condition. We use WOULD + base verb to talk about the future result. The important thing about the second conditional is that there is an unreal possibility that the condition will happen.

Here are some more examples:


IF conditionresult
past simpleWOULD + base verb
If I married MaryI would be happy.
If Ram became richshe would marry him.
If it snowed next Julywould you be surprised?
If it snowed next Julywhat would you do?


result IFcondition
WOULD + base verb past simple
I would be happy ifI married Mary.
She would marry Ram ifhe became rich.
Would you be surprised ifit snowed next July?
What would you do ifit snowed next July?

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