Second and third conditionals: Unreal conditionals

Exercises: 1 2 3

Exercise 3

Fill in the gaps with the correct form of the verbs in brackets. There are forms of first, second and third conditionals in the text. Do NOT use short forms.

If the world's big problems had been addressed sooner, our lives 1 (improve) a long time ago. But politicians and world leaders don’t do enough to improve the quality of life. If I had any power, I 2 (try) to stop the destruction of our planet and I 3 (make) the world a better place for all people.

First of all, I would try to stop wars because unless we put an end to all the wars, millions of people 4 (continue) to die every day. If there were no wars, all children 5 (have) their parents at home to take care of them and provide for them, and they 6 (grow up) in a happier world.

Also, if I 7 (be) a world leader, I would provide clean water for all countries. If all countries 8 (have) easy access to clean water, millions of children 9 (stop) dying from diseases caused by the lack of clean water. If we don't do something about this issue soon, there 10 (be) lots of wars and deaths because of the lack of water.

We also need to introduce laws to reduce pollution. If we had done this in the past, millions of species 11 (never/become) extinct, and global warming 12 (never/start). If it were up to me, I 13 (introduce) very high taxes on fuel energy and at the same time I 14 (help) big companies to invest in clean energy. Unless we take measures now, it 15 (be) too late both for ourselves and our children.

Exercises: 1 2 3

Second conditional: Grammar chart

Second conditional grammar chart, showing sentence structures for hypothetical situations.

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We use the second conditional to talk about hypothetical or imaginary situations in the present or the future. We can use past simple or past continuous in the if clause, and we can use would, could or might + simple infinitive (do) or continuous infinitive (be doing) in the main clause.

If there were a fire, it would be impossible to escape.
If you weren’t making so much noise, I could concentrate.
I wouldn’t have a car if I lived in the city.
If it weren’t for him, I might not be talking to you right now.

When we use the verb be in the if clause, we can use either was (spoken English) or were (more formal) after I, he, she or it. But when we are giving advice, we always use if I were you (NOT was).

If he was/were rich, he wouldn’t be living in this house.
If I were you, I’d call him as soon as possible. (NOT was)

As with all conditional types, we use a comma after the if clause when it goes at the beginning of the sentence, but we don’t use a comma when the if clause goes at the end.

If you weren’t making so much noise, I could concentrate.
I could concentrate if you weren’t making so much noise.

Third conditional: Grammar chart

Third conditional grammar chart explaining sentence structure for past hypothetical situations with examples like "If you had come to class, you would have passed the exam."

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We use the third conditional to talk about hypothetical or imaginary situations in the past. We can use the past perfect simple or past perfect continuous in the if clause and we can use would, could or might + the perfect infinitive in the main clause.

If you had come to class more often, you would have passed the test.
I wouldn’t have been late if I hadn’t overslept.
He could have died if he hadn’t been wearing a helmet.
If the jacket had been a bit cheaper, I might have bought it.