
If I were you, I would always use were!ĮXCEPTION! Don’t use “ If I was you … ” This is very informal and sounds uneducated, although you will sometimes hear native speakers use it. It’s not grammatically wrong to use “ If she was here, …” or “ If I was him, …” However, many people think that this is incorrect because it is so informal. Learn more: What is the subjunctive mood? “ I were” is the subjunctive form of the verb be. It’s OK and very common to use I were in the second conditional sentence structure. If you were me, would you look for a new job? The second conditional can also be used to ask for advice:

I would buy the red dress instead of the blue dress if I were you. When the if-clause is in the second part of the sentence, you don’t need to use a comma. If I were you, I would dump him and find a new boyfriend! If I were her, I’d apologize for being late. If I were you, I wouldn’t tell anyone about this. You imagine what you would do if you faced the same decision or situation as someone else. The most common use of the second conditional is giving advice to people. Giving Advice: “ If I were you, I would … “
#First and second conditional exercises with answers how to
Now that you understand how to form the second conditional, let’s focus on when to use it.ġ. Yes, use the simple past in this sentence even though you are talking about a present situation. This is the second conditional sentence structure. If I lived in a big city, I would go out every night. Why would I go out every night? I don’t go out every night now, so why would I start going out every night?

This is a complete sentence, but there is also some information missing. There are more things to do in a big city. This result hasn’t happened, and may or may not happen, but it’s possible.ĭo I go out every night now? No, I don’t. In this sentence, the modal verb would means that you are imagining the result. What would I do if I lived in a big city? How would my life be different? I want to pretend that I live in a big city. Learn more: What are conditional sentences?ĭo I live in a big city? No, I don’t. One event or situation is a condition for another event or situation. The main-clause is the result of the condition in the if-clause. The if-clause contains a condition, or the event or situation that must happen first.

There is an if-clause, also called the the conditional-clause, and there is a main-clause or a result-clause. There are two parts to a conditional sentence. A conjunction joins two sentences or two clauses together. These are things that are not real, so this conditional is also called the present unreal conditional.Ī quick review: If is a conjunction. You can use the the second conditional to give advice, give reasons why you can’t do something, ask hypothetical questions, or generally imagine that your life is different. If the present were different, this would happen. If this event happened or if this condition existed, this would happen. You wish that your present situation, or someone else’s present situation was different. Use the second conditional when you want to imagine that the present, right now, is different than it really is. Hypothetical means imaginary or not real. The second (2nd) conditional is the present hypothetical conditional. Conditional sentences in English are used to talk about events and their results.
