Conditionals

The Second Conditional: 'If I won the lottery, I'd travel'

Level B1 Conditionals
Key idea

We use the second conditional to talk about unreal, imaginary, or unlikely situations in the present or future. The pattern is 'if' + past simple, then 'would' (or 'd) + the base verb, as in 'If I won the lottery, I'd travel.' Don't be fooled by the past tense here: it signals 'unreal', not past time. The verb 'would' goes in the result clause, never in the if-clause, and the fixed phrase 'If I were you, I'd apologise' uses 'were' for every subject when you give advice.

Examples

  • If I won the lottery, I'd travel. an imaginary, unlikely situation
  • If I were you, I'd apologise. giving advice
  • What would you do if you lost your job? asking about a hypothetical

The full lesson

Everything in the video, in text.

  1. If I won… I would…

    the second conditional

    Want to talk about your dreams, give advice, or imagine a different life? You need one structure — and most learners get one half of it wrong.

  2. 💭

    If + past simple, … would + base verb.

    Use the second conditional for situations that are unreal or unlikely — imaginary present and future. The recipe has two halves: an if-clause and a result.

  3. Two halves

    if-clause
    • if + past simple
    • signals 'unreal'
    • not past time
    result
    • would + base verb
    • the imagined outcome

    Here's the trick. The past tense in the if-clause does not mean past time. It's a signal that the situation isn't real. Then would carries the imaginary result.

  4. If I won the lottery, I'd travel the world.

    past = unreal, not past time

    Take the classic daydream. Winning the lottery is unlikely, so we go unreal. If I won the lottery, I'd travel the world.

  5. If I had more time, I would learn the guitar.

    would + base verb

    Notice I'd is just I would shortened. The result always uses would plus the base verb — here, travel. If I had more time, I would learn the guitar.

  6. If I were you, I'd apologise.

    fixed phrase for advice

    Advice loves this structure. The most useful phrase in English: If I were you. If I were you, I'd apologise.

  7. to be (unreal)

    I were
    he / she / it were
    we / they were

    And that were is not a typo. In the second conditional, we use were for every person — I, he, she, it. If I were, if he were. Was creeps in casually, but were is the correct form here.

  8. What would you do if you lost your job?

    question form

    You can also ask about a hypothetical. Flip the result into a question and keep the if-clause in the past. What would you do if you lost your job?

  9. ✗ If I would win, I'd travel. ❌ no 'would' after 'if'
    ✓ If I won, I'd travel. ✅ past simple in the if-clause

    'would' lives in the result, never in the if-clause.

    Now the big mistake. Learners want to put would in the if-clause: If I would win. Wrong. Would never goes after if. The if-clause takes the past simple — if I won — and would stays in the result.

  10. Real vs unreal

    1st — likely
    • If it rains, I'll stay.
    • real possibility
    2nd — unlikely
    • If it rained, I'd stay.
    • imaginary

    And don't confuse it with the first conditional. If it rains, I'll stay is a real possibility. If it rained, I'd stay imagines an unlikely one.

  11. Remember

    • If + past simple → would + base verb
    • Past = unreal, not past time
    • Use 'were': If I were you…

    So remember: if plus past simple, then would plus base verb. The past means unreal, and after if you say were, never would.

Related lessons

The Zero Conditional in EnglishThe First Conditional: If + Present Simple, Will + Base VerbThe Third Conditional in English