The game is on the line, and I've only got a shot clock's worth of time to tell you about Subway's 699 -foot -long deal.
That's right. Order now in the Subway app and get any foot -long on the menu for just $6 .99.
Fresh sliced deli meat, fresh crispy veggies.
Ugh, too much good stuff!
Get it now on the Subway app.
Any foot -long for just $6 .99.
Use code 699FLNOW. Only here for a limited time.
Redeemable at participating U .S.
restaurants. Subway app.
Online orders only.
Add -ons additional plus tax.
Additional fees apply on delivery.
Excludes foot -long snacks.
Limited time. Welcome to the A to Z English podcast.
My name is Jack, and today I have another solo episode, and we are in the grammar zone.
And today's grammar is something that is called the second conditional, the second conditional.
And the second conditional is another if clause where we start the sentence with if, we say if, and then we use the past simple.
And then the second clause of this sentence, we use would, plus the base form of the verb.
And so let me give you an example here, okay?
And the difference between first conditional and second conditional is the first conditional is a real or possible situation in the future.
So the first conditional would be, if it rains, I will stay indoors.
And we use the if plus the present simple and then will plus the base form.
And it's because these are likely or possible situations.
But the second conditional is for unlikely or unreal or impossible situations.
So, things that we can imagine.
Another word we use in English to describe the second conditional is hypothetical situations.
And a hypothetical is something that is perhaps it's not physically possible.
It's an imaginary situation, or something that's very unlikely to happen.
So here's an unlikely one.
If I won the lottery, I would travel the world.
So everybody knows winning the lottery is very, very unlikely.
even if you have a ticket or even if you have a lot of tickets, it's very unlikely that you are going to win the lottery.
But it's fun to imagine what you would do if you were to win the lottery so we can make a sentence like this.
If I won the lottery, I would travel the world.
And so, notice how instead of saying, if I win the lottery, for the second conditional, we say, if I won the lottery.
And instead of saying, I will travel the world, we say, I would travel the world.
And here's an impossible one.
And I'm going to talk about the grammar in this one a little bit after I give you the example.
if i were a superhero i would be iron man now we all know that superheroes are not real they only exist in comic books and movies and television shows however we can imagine what it would be like to be a superhero.
So we say, if I were a superhero, I would be Iron Man.
Now I know what you're thinking.
You're asking this question, Jack, why did you say were instead of was?
And this is because it's not technically a simple past.
It's what we call the subjunctive mood.
And when we're using the subjunctive mood, we don't have to use was, we just use only were.
So if I were, or if my house were bigger, I would have more rooms.
If I were a superhero, I would be Iron Man.
If I were a color, I would be the color blue.
We can't be a color, but we can imagine what color kind of represents our personality.
Maybe someone else would say, if I were a color, I would be orange, because maybe you're a warm and sunny person.
um here's another example of a second conditional sentence that is just very very very unlikely i'm sitting in my office in my home right now recording this podcast and if i said this sentence if a tiger walked into the room i would hide geico makes it easy to get affordable renter's insurance in as
little as 90 seconds.
That way, you have more energy for harder things, like the laundry.
Why is it so difficult to fold clothes?
They just end up wrinkly anyway, or on the floor in a pile that just sits there, taunting you.
But with renter's insurance through Geico, at least you know that those clothes, and the other things you love, are covered.
get more with geico under a table what are the odds that a tiger is going to walk into my room it's very very very small i don't live in a country that has tigers there are tigers at the zoo but i don't think any of them are wandering around my apartment so it would be very unlikely but I can imagine
the situation right if a tiger walked into the room I would hide under the table if I saw a ghost I would be scared okay most people don't believe in ghosts they're not real but we can imagine what that would be like because we've seen movies with ghosts and we tell ghost stories to each other.
So that's the second conditional.
And we can also use the second conditional to give advice to people.
So here's an example of giving advice.
If I said to my friend, oh, I don't feel well, I have a cough and a sore throat.
quote, my friend can say, Jack, if I were you, I would go to the doctor.
And this is a way to give advice using the second conditional, because the sentence is, if I were you, but I can't be you, and you can't be me.
We cannot change bodies, right?
So, I can only imagine if I were in your situation, what I would do.
If I were you, I would go to the doctor.
And the second conditional, you know, it's very useful in these situations where we're imagining hypothetical situations, either in the future or impossible, imaginary.
and then giving some kind of result or action, something that you would do if that condition were actually true.
If you were a superhero, which superhero would you be?
If a tiger walked into the room, what would you do?
If you were sick, what would you do?
Well, I would go to the doctor.
And so that's it. That's the second conditional.
And it's different than the first conditional.
Like I said, the first conditional is more like real situations.
You know, if I see Lisa, I will tell her to call you.
Okay, well, I, you know, sometimes I see Lisa.
Lisa is a student at my school.
So if I see her, I will tell her to call you.
Okay, that's first conditional.
But second conditional would be things that are imaginary, unreal, or hypothetical.
And so hopefully this is useful information for you all.
And as usual, if you want to leave a comment about this grammar, if you have a question, or if you would like to make your own sentences, you could comment on our website, a -to -z -englishpodcast .com.
You can send us an email, a -to -z -englishpodcast at gmail .com.
You can join our WhatsApp group, the A to Z English Podcast WhatsApp group, by clicking the link below.
and leave some example sentences there.
You can also join our WeChat group.
And I know a lot of our Chinese listeners out there are using WeChat, so don't be shy.
Join our WeChat group and send me a message.
I will definitely get back to you.
And with that said, we will see you next time.
Thanks, everybody. Bye -bye.
Thank you. Yeah, sure thing.
Hey, you sold that car yet?
Yeah, sold it to Carvana.
Oh, I thought you were selling to that guy.
The guy who wanted to pay me in foreign currency, no interest, over 36 months?
Yeah, no. Carvana gave me an offer in minutes, picked it up, and paid me on the spot.
It was so convenient.
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No hassle. None. That is super convenient.
Sell your car to Carvana and swap hassle for convenience.
Pickup fees may apply.
The game is on the line and I've only got a shot clock's worth of time to tell you about Subway's 699 -foot -long deal.
That's right. Order now in the Subway app and get any footlong on the menu for just $6 .99.
Fresh sliced deli meat, fresh crispy veggies.
Ah, too much good stuff.
Get it now on the Subway app.
Any footlong for just $6 .99.
Use code 699FL now.
Only here for a limited time.
Redeemable at participating U .S.
restaurants. Subway app.
Online orders only.
Add -ons additional plus tax.
Additional fees apply on delivery.
Excludes footlong snacks.
Limited time.
