Grammar: Second Conditional

I've been a bit lazy with my own blog and busy with my school's stuff, so I must apologise for those of you who have been waiting for my entry this Friday.

Today, we will move to the next type of the conditional sentences, called the Second Conditional.

If you have been reading on grammar books, you must have realised that few of them further classify this type of conditional. Here I would like to group them into two types, I simply call them type 2A and 2B.

Let's take a look at the first type.

Second Conditional 2A
Highly impossible, but not totally impossible
[ If (past simple), (would + infinitive) ]
Condition Result

1. If I won the Mark 6 Jackpot tonight, I would donate 20% to the charity.
2. If someone got hit by a car right in front of me now, I would call 999 for help.

Time Concern: From Now to Future
Chances for condition to happen: Very low; alm0st impossible, but not 100% impossible

Alternatively, you can use

[(would + infinitive) if (past simple)]

Result Condition

1. I would donate 20% of the Mark 6 Jackpot to the charity if I won it tonight.
2. I would call 999 for help if someone got hit by a car right in front of me now.

This should be easy to understand, now let's move on to 2B.

___________________________________________________________________

Second Conditional 2B
100% impossible
[ If (past simple), (would + infinitive) ]
Condition Result

1. If I were you, I would marry your girlfriend.
2. If you worked for me, I would fire you straight away!

Time Concern: From Now to Future
Chances for condition to happen: 100% impossible.

Alternatively, you can use

[(would + infinitive) if (past simple)]

Result Condition

1. I would marry your girlfriend if I were you.
2. I would fire you straight away if you worked for me.

Important Note:

If you have been reading my previous entry on Zero & First Conditionals, you would have realised 3 things:

Tenses Used: From Present to Past

Time Concern: From "anytime" to only "future and present" --> moving back in time gradually.

Chances for condition to happen: From 100% possible to 100% impossible.

This is the trend for conditional sentences. In the future, you can expect that the Third Conditional would follow this trend too. Till then, enjoy learning!

PS: I hope you enjoyed my examples. I have tried my best to make it sound ridiculous.