How is the Second Conditional formed in English?

How is the Second Conditional formed in English?

1. The second conditional is the one we use when we talk about things, usually unreal, that are very unlikely to happen.

   • EXAMPLES ºIf Andrew arrives late again, they will fire him. -Si Andrew llega tarde otra vez, le echarán. ºIf they go to France, they will bring us good cheese.  -Si van a Francia, nos traerán buen queso.

2. How do you use the second conditional in English?

   • A very common mistake when formulating the second conditional is to mix it up or confuse it with the first conditional. For example, it would be wrong to say: If I am tall, I would be happier. If I am tall, I would be happier. This sentence is wrong, since here we are using the present simple in the first part of the sentence, and the 'would' in the second, something that should never be done. The correct way would be: If I were tall, I would be happier. If he was tall, he would be happier.

3. Note: even if 'were' sounds strange to you and 'was' sounds better to you (in fact, many natives use 'was'), remember that it is NOT correct. For all the grammatical persons of the verb 'to be', we use 'were'. Tip: learn the past simple well so as not to make mistakes when formulating the second conditional.

4. Another mistake that is usually made by confusing the second conditional with the first is the use of 'will' (first conditional) instead of 'would' (second conditional). For instance: If I got that job, I will move to Vancouver. If I get that job, I'm moving to Vancouver. If I got that job, I would move to Vancouver. If I got that job, I would move to Vancouver. Both sentences are correct. The difference is that in the first one, the person shows more confidence that they will get the job and move to Vancouver. However, in the second, the person may want that job, but is not sure that he will get it.

5. Second conditional: affirmative, negative and interrogative

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