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Slide 1

Second conditional

• When building it we use the past simple: If + subject + past simple + subject + would + infinitive (without to) If I were a rich man, I would buy a magic pill to learn English in a week. Although some natives say If I was…, not you! That's wrong. It's like saying haiga in Spanish. The correct thing is to always use were for all grammatical people with the verb to be in these cases. Here, as in the first conditional, it is also not necessary to start with if; The example sentence could also be I would buy a magic pill to learn English in a week if I were a rich man. Of course, if you see if and would in the same sentence, there something happens. Something that we do not like at all.

examples

• If I were taller, she would like me. (Si fuera más alto, le gustaría.)
• If I won the lottery, I would buy my dream house. (Si ganara la lotería, compraría la casa de mis sueños.)
• If she lost weight, the dress would fit. (Si perdiera peso, el vestido le quedaría bien.)
• If we lived in France we learned French very fast. (Si viviéramos en Francia aprenderíamos francés muy rápido.)
• If they were in our place, they would do the same thing. (Si estuvieran en nuestro lugar, harían lo mismo.)
• If I had children, I would teach them to dance. (Si tuviera hijos, les enseñaría a bailar.)
• If we didn’t have to go to school, we could go to the match. (Si no tuviéramos que ir a la escuela, podríamos ir al partido.)
• If she were your friend, you would tell her the truth. (Si fuera tu amiga, le dirías la verdad.)
• If you didn’t watch so much television you would do better at school. (Si no miraras tanta televisión te iría mejor en el colegio.)
• If you paid more attention to your grandmother, she would be happier. (Si le prestaras más atención a tu abuela, ella estaría más contenta.)