Business English B1 · Lesson 10A

Grammar Bank

The rules behind this lesson — form, use, model sentences and the mistakes to avoid.

← Back to the lesson

Grammar focus of this lesson

2nd conditional (light) for hypothetical plans

1 structure

Second conditional
Imaginary or unlikely present/future situations.
I've got this
Rules & form
- ›If + past simple, would / wouldn't + base verb.
- ›could / might instead of would for possibility.
- ›If I were is preferred to If I was in formal use.
- ›Also for polite hypotheses: If you had a moment, I'd…
Examples
- “If I had the money, I'd start my own company.”
- “If I were CEO, I'd change the pricing model.”
- “We could grow faster if we hired a second developer.”
Watch out · If I would have ✗ in the if-clause.
Your own example