Universite d’antananarivo ecole normale superieure

1.1.2.3- Second conditional or conditional type two

In a second conditional sentence, the verb in the if clause is in the PAST SIMPLE tense and that of the result clause is in the PRESENT CONDITIONAL. (would + V[-to])

Eg: (1) - If my grandfather were alive today, he would experience a very different world.

2. 
   - If I had a helicopter, I would visit many famous cities.
   

 If +S+ PAST SIMPLE, S+ PRESENT CONDITIONAL (would + V(-to))

The if clause tells a condition which could happen in the present time, but the condition could not actually happen. It is just a hypothetical situation, an imagination, or a dream. When we say “If my grandfather were alive today”, we mean that he is not alive today. He is dead. When we say “If I had a helicopter”, similarly we mean that I do not have a helicopter. We just imagine that I have a helicopter. In other words, the conditions in these two sentences are unreal. Therefore, the if clause in a conditional sentence type 2 refers to the present time. We can, for example, add an adverb of time to sentence (2):

 If I had a helicopter now, I would visit many famous cities.

Below are some other unreal conditions:
If I were rich, (I am not rich)
If Mum were the teacher, (Mum is not the teacher) If they were present now, (they are not present now) If I were President, (I am not President)

The second conditional, also called “present counterfactual conditional” in some terminologies, is included in the imaginative (or subjunctive) conditional relationships. “Counterfactual” means contrary-to- fact statement (Wu, 1994). Thus, this second type of conditional sentences refers to improbabilities or events which are less likely to happen with the reference to the present.