If I were you, I would watch this lesson.
Because we're going to talk about the second conditional.
And I am going to tell you how to use it, when to use it, why to use it.
And...yeah, that's coming up.
Welcome, welcome, welcome. Today, we are going to talk about the second conditional.
But before we begin, I want to remind you to check out
our social media classes because it is a great way to practice your English skills.
If I were you, I'd check it out.
See...we're using the second conditional already.
So first of, let's talk a little bit about conditionals in general.
And they're made up of two parts, which is a condition and a result.
So let's look back at that first sentence I said.
Now, the condition is going to have a subject and a verb,
but it's not a complete sentence. If I were you...
That that doesn't mean anything.
And that is why we need our results to complete the sentence.
And this is our main clause.
It also has a subject and a verb, and it could stand alone as an independent sentence.
I would watch this lesson.
And when we put this all together, the condition
and the result, we have our second conditional.
Now, the reason it's the second conditional is because
The second conditional talks about a hypothetical or an unreal situation.
And it's the condition that tells us about this hypothetical or unreal situation.
So let's get a little help from our friend Beyonce
because she has an example.
So this is our condition, and it is an unreal situation.
Why? Because Beyonce...she's not a boy. At least I don't think she is.
No, no she's not. It's not real.
Here's another example of a hypothetical condition.
So this condition is hypothetical.
Do I have a million dollars?
No
Will I ever have a million dollars?
Probably not.
So it is hypothetical. It's probably not going to happen.
Now the result is going to tell us about the probable
outcome from whatever hypothetical or unreal condition.
So let's go back to Beyonce's example and have her complete the sentence.
So she's talking about the outcome - what she would do if she were a boy.
Now, what if we had a million dollars?
How are we going to complete that sentence?
Of course, there is a lot that I would do if I had a million dollars.
So let's go back to that first sentence.
Now, when we're using the second conditional
the condition is going to be in the simple past.
With the result, we're going to use WOULD + BASE VERB.
And this is a rule.
The condition is going to be in the simple past, and the
result we're going to use would plus the base verb.
If I were you - in the simple past - I would watch this lesson.
WOULD WATCH.
Now you're probably looking at the condition and thinking wait, wait, wait, wait.
This is a little strange.
Why are we using "were" with the subject "I"?
This is because the second conditional is one of those
times when we use the subjunctive in English.
The challenge with this is that you often hear people
speaking, especially native speakers, using, "If I was..."
And they don't use the subjunctive.
You might hear this in movies. You might hear it when you're watching TV.
This is one of those grammar situations in which
even a lot of native English speakers say it incorrectly.
So if you want to use the correct grammar, use the subjunctive.
If I were...
Now you only have to worry about the subjunctive when we're using the verb TO BE.
All the other verbs in the simple past will not be affected.
The challenge is that when we use the second conditional, were often using the verb TO BE.
Also, keep in mind the punctuation.
When the condition comes before the result, we need a
comma to separate our "if" clause and our main clause.
Now if we switch these around, and the result comes
before the condition, then we don't need a comma.
The last thing that I want you to know about the second conditional
is that in the result, we can use could instead of would
if we're talking about a present or future outcome.
For example...
So let's see some other examples of the second
conditional being used in different situations.
If I were you, I would think about climbing on board.
I wouldn't be your girl even if, even if you had a million dollars.
If I jump, would I survive?
What would you say if I took those words away?
Now, let's practice what we've learned.
So in the comments, I want you to complete the following sentence.
What? What would you do? Let us know. Write it in the comments.
I look forward to reading about this hypothetical situation because...
Let's face it. We're probably not going to win the lottery.
Sorry. But you could still tell us what you would do.
I hope that you enjoyed this lesson on the second conditional, and if you did
please give this video a thumbs up.
And you can go on check out some of our other video lessons
so you can continue practicing your English.
Thanks for watching, and we'll see you next time.