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Hypothetical Questions

Introduction

We use the second conditional to describe a situation in the present that is not real and the result if we imagine it is real.

If I took the bus, I would arrive at 7pm.

"If I took the bus" is a situation in the present that is not real.

"I would arrive at 7pm" is the result if I imagine that the situation is real.

Examples:

If I owned that house, I would paint it a different colour.

I don’t own that house so painting it a different colour is an imagined result.

If I lived in Italy, I would learn to cook Italian food.

I don’t live in Italy so learning to cook Italian food is an imagined result.

If Tom were rich, he would buy an expensive car.

Tom is not rich so buying an expensive car is an imagined result.

If you were me, would you take the train or the bus?

You are not me. What is your advice if you imagine that you are?

Form - conditional and main clause

We form the second conditional with a conditional clause and a main clause:

Conditional clause: "if" + past simple

Main clause: "would" + infinitive (without "to")

The order of the clauses does not matter: the meaning is the same.

If we put the conditional clause before the main clause, we use a comma:

Table 4

Table 4

Conditional clause

Main clause

"If" + past simple + comma

"would" + infinitive (without "to")

If I took the bus,

I would arrive at 7pm.

If I owned that house,

I would paint it a different colour.

If I lived in Italy,

I would learn to cook Italian food.

If you were me,

would you take the train or the bus?

If Tom were rich,

he would buy an expensive car.

There are no rows in this table

⁠

We do not use a comma if we put the main clause before the conditional clause:

Table 5

Table 5

Main clause

Conditional clause

"would" + infinitive (without "to")

"if" + past simple

I would arrive at 7pm

if I took the bus.

I would paint that house a different colour

if I owned it.

I would learn to cook Italian food

if I lived in Italy.

Would you take the train or the bus

if you were me?

Tom would buy an expensive car

if he were rich.

There are no rows in this table

⁠

We only use "were" (not "was") for the past simple of "be" in the conditional clause.

We can contract the subject pronoun and "would": "I’d" / "you’d" / "we’d" / "they’d" / "she’d" / "he’d" / "it’d"

We can use the past continuous in the conditional clause:

If I were being honest, I would tell him that I don’t like the food.

I am not being honest so I have not told him that I don’t like the food.

⁠

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