Level B1

Second Conditional: unreal present/future

Second conditional: if + past form, would + plain verb for an unreal present or future situation.

If I were rich, I would travel.

Look: If I were rich, I would travel. Were after if, would travel in the other part.

Forms

• If I were rich, I would travel. — if + past form, would + plain action word
• If she had time, she would help. — had here describes an imagined situation now
• If we lived nearby, we would visit. — the past form shows distance from reality, not past time

A common mistake

Wrong: If I were rich, I will travel.

Right: If I were rich, I would travel.

Do not say If I were rich, I will travel. For an unreal idea, say: If I were rich, I would travel.

More examples

If I knew her number, I would call her.

Another imagined situation: If I knew her number, I would call her.

If they had a garden, they would grow flowers.

And one more: If they had a garden, they would grow flowers.