Study the rules, look at the examples, then do the exercises.
Sometimes we do not talk about real life — we talk about imaginary worlds: things that are not true now, or that are very unlikely. If I were a bird... If I had a million dollars... If I could fly... For these dreams and unreal ideas, English uses a special structure called the Second Conditional.
The core idea is simple: we imagine an unreal present or future, and then we say the imaginary result. Because the situation is not real, we "step back" one tense — we use the Past Simple in the if-part, even though we are talking about now.
The Second Conditional has two parts (clauses). The if-clause uses the Past Simple, and the result clause uses would + the base verb (the infinitive without to).
| If-clause (condition) | Result clause | Full sentence |
|---|---|---|
| If + Past Simple | would + base verb | If I knew her number, I would call her. |
| If I won the lottery, | I would buy a house. | If I won the lottery, I would buy a house. |
| If we lived in Paris, | we would speak French. | If we lived in Paris, we would speak French. |
With the verb be, the Second Conditional uses were for every subject — I, he, she and it too. In everyday speech you may also hear was, but in careful English and in exams, were is the correct choice.
| Subject | Standard form ✓ | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I / he / she / it | were | If I were you, I would rest. / If he were here, he would help. |
| you / we / they | were | If they were rich, they would travel more. |
This is the heart of the unit. The First Conditional talks about a real, possible future. The Second Conditional talks about something imaginary or unlikely. The grammar tells the listener how you feel about the chance.
| Idea | First Conditional (real) | Second Conditional (imaginary) |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | If + Present, will + verb | If + Past, would + verb |
| A likely future plan | If it rains, I will take a taxi. | ✗ (this is a real plan) |
| A dream / unlikely idea | ✗ (this is not real) | If I ruled the world, I would stop all wars. |
| Meaning | "This can really happen." | "This is only my imagination." |
The result clause does not always use would. We change the modal to change the meaning — how certain the imaginary result is.
| Modal | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| would | the sure imaginary result | If I had a dog, I would walk it every day. |
| could | would be able to / a possibility | If I had a car, I could drive to work. |
| might | maybe (not sure) | If you asked her, she might say yes. |
You will use the Second Conditional mostly for two things in real life:
| Use | How | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Giving advice | Put yourself in the other person's place with "If I were you..." | If I were you, I wouldn't worry so much. |
| Imagining / dreaming | Describe an unreal situation and its result | If I could live anywhere, I would choose the coast. |
These are the errors B1 students make most often with the Second Conditional. Check your own writing against this list.
| Wrong ✗ | Right ✓ | Why? |
|---|---|---|
| If I would have money, I would travel. | If I had money, I would travel. | Never use would in the if-clause — use the Past Simple. |
| If she studies, she would pass. | If she studied, she would pass. | Imaginary condition → Past Simple, not Present. |
| If I had a car, I will drive. | If I had a car, I would drive. | Second Conditional result uses would, not will. |
| If I was you, I would rest. | If I were you, I would rest. | Use were for all subjects in careful English. |
| If I won, I would to buy a boat. | If I won, I would buy a boat. | After would, use the base verb (no to). |
Two friends imagine their dream lives. Read it twice and notice the pattern: If + Past Simple in the condition, would / could in the result.
Choose the correct answer. — 10 questions, each one is marked instantly. Questions get harder as you go.
Learn the words, then use them in your own imaginary sentences.
Write 8 sentences about your dreams and imaginary situations. Use at least 8 of the words above.
Sentence starters (you can begin with these):
Değerlendirme öğretmenin tarafından yapılacak. (Your teacher will review your task.)
Read the text, then answer the questions.
Good readers prepare before they start. Before you read, think about these three questions (you do not need to write the answers):
Words to spot (from the Speaking section): dream · talent · talented · chance · opportunity · imagine · wonder · regret
Elif works as a nurse in a busy city hospital, and she loves helping people. Still, like most of us, she sometimes wonders what her life would be like if she had made different choices. 'If I weren't a nurse,' she often says with a smile, 'I think I would be a musician.'
Every morning, Elif wakes up early and takes the crowded bus to the hospital. Her days are long, and they are often tiring. She checks on the patients, gives them their medicine, and talks to their worried families. Many people are frightened when they first arrive, so Elif tries to make them feel calm and safe. 'A kind word can help as much as a pill,' she likes to say. By the end of a shift, her feet hurt and she feels exhausted, yet she almost always goes home with a warm feeling in her heart. She knows that her work matters, and that is the main reason why she has never truly wanted to leave it.
All the same, in the quiet minutes between her tasks, Elif's mind begins to wander. While she waits for the lift or drinks a quick cup of tea, she imagines another version of herself. In this daydream, she is standing on a bright stage, holding a guitar, and a huge crowd is singing along with her. She smiles at the picture in her head and then goes back to work. These little dreams do not make her sad; instead, they seem to give her fresh energy for the rest of the day.
When Elif was young, she played the guitar every day. She was talented, and her teacher told her that if she practised hard, she could become professional. However, her family did not have much money, so she chose a safer career. She does not regret her decision, but she still dreams. 'If I had more free time, I would join a band,' she says. 'And if I lived by the sea, I would play on the beach every evening.'
That old guitar still sits in the corner of her bedroom. It once belonged to her father, and the wood is scratched and a little worn. When she was ten years old, Elif taught herself the first few chords by watching videos and copying the songs she loved. Soon she could play for hours without stopping. Her teacher at the local music school was very proud of her, and he often said that she had a rare gift. 'You have real talent,' he told her one afternoon. 'If you kept practising like this, you could play in front of thousands of people one day.' Elif never forgot those words.
Life, however, had other plans. Elif's parents worked very hard, but they earned very little, and a career in music felt risky and uncertain. Nursing, on the other hand, offered a steady salary and the chance to help other people. So, at the age of eighteen, Elif made her decision and started her training. Looking back now, she believes that she chose well. 'If I had studied music,' she sometimes wonders aloud, 'perhaps I would be poor and unhappy today. Or perhaps I would be famous. Nobody can ever really know.' Even so, on quiet Sunday afternoons, she still picks up the guitar and plays her favourite songs by the open window.
Elif also thinks about travel. She has never left her country, but her imagination has no borders. 'If I could go anywhere, I would visit Japan,' she explains. 'I would learn the language, and I might even stay there for a year.' Her best friend, Deniz, laughs and says, 'If I were you, I would just book a ticket!'
Deniz has been Elif's closest friend since their school days, and the two of them love to imagine adventures together. 'But why Japan?' Deniz once asked her. Elif's eyes lit up at once. 'If I visited Japan, I would walk under the cherry trees in spring,' she answered. 'I would eat real sushi, ride the fast trains, and take hundreds of photographs.' Deniz laughed and shook her head. 'You always talk about it, but you never buy the ticket! If I had your dream, I would already be on the plane.' Elif just smiled, because she knew that, for now, the dream itself was enough for her.
There was one night that Elif often remembers. A frightened young boy could not sleep in his hospital bed, so she sat beside him and quietly sang an old song from her childhood. Little by little, the boy stopped crying and finally fell asleep. At that moment, Elif understood something important. 'Maybe I did not lose my music after all,' she thought. 'If I bring a little of it to my patients, I can still be a nurse and a musician at the same time.' Since that night, she has never felt that her two worlds are truly separate.
Some of Elif's colleagues do not really understand her daydreams. 'You are a grown woman with a good and stable job,' one of them said to her. 'Why do you spend your time imagining impossible things?' But Elif does not think that her dreams are a waste of time. For her, imagining a different life is a little like reading a good book or watching an exciting film. It costs nothing, it hurts no one, and it helps her to relax after a long and difficult shift.
Of course, Elif knows that dreams and reality are different. If everyone followed every dream, she says, the hospitals would be empty and no one would help the sick. 'I am happy with my life,' she admits. 'But it is nice to imagine. If we never dreamed, life would be very grey.'
And so, each evening, Elif closes her eyes and lets her imagination travel far away — to a stage full of light, to a warm beach, or to a busy street in Tokyo. Then, in the morning, she puts on her uniform and returns to the people who need her most. Perhaps that is the real secret of a happy life: you can live one life with your hands, and a thousand other lives inside your mind.
Choose the correct answer.
Are these sentences true or false, according to the text?
Complete each sentence with ONE word from the text. Mind the Second Conditional form (Past Simple in the if-clause, would in the result).
Write your answer in your own words. These questions are not marked automatically.
1. If Elif weren't a nurse, what does she think she would be, and why?
2. What would Elif do if she could go anywhere in the world?
3. Do you agree with Elif that 'if we never dreamed, life would be very grey'? Why or why not?
Find these connectors in the text — each one appears at least once: and, but, so, however, still. (You will use these same connectors in the Writing section.) Note them down, then check.
Gyri and Viyasan talk about the talents they would love to have.
You will hear two friends, Gyri and Viyasan, talking about talents they wish they had — memory, dancing, sport and basketball. You will listen TWICE. First listen: answer questions 1-5. Second listen: answer questions 6-10. (Kaydı İKİ kez dinleyeceksin: ilk dinlemede 1-5, ikinci dinlemede 6-10.)
Write and submit your paragraph; your teacher will review it.
A list of short, separate sentences is not real writing. What connects your ideas is linking words. At A2 you used and, but, so, because. At B1 you add stronger connectors like also, however, although and still. When you write about imaginary situations, connectors help you move smoothly between a dream and reality.
| Connector | Use it to... | Example |
|---|---|---|
| and | add information | If I were free, I would travel, and I would write a book. |
| but | show a small contrast | I love my town, but I would still like to see the world. |
| so | show a result | I have no free time, so I only dream about music. |
| because | give a reason | I would move abroad because I love new cultures. |
| also | add an extra point | If I were rich, I would help my family. I would also give to charity. |
| however | contrast between two sentences | I would love to be a singer. However, I am too shy. |
| although | show a strong contrast | Although it is only a dream, I imagine it often. |
| still | say something is true in spite of things | My life is good, but I still have big dreams. |
See the difference — the same ideas, written two ways:
| Separate sentences ✗ | Connected, fluent writing ✓ |
|---|---|
| I am a teacher. I like my job. I would change one thing. I would live by the sea. I have no time to move. | I am a teacher, and I like my job. However, if I could change one thing, I would live by the sea. Still, I have no time to move, so for now it is only a dream. |
An "imaginary life" paragraph has three parts. The skeleton stays the same every time — you change the content, not the structure:
| Part | What to write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Opening | A general hypothetical topic sentence (Second Conditional) | If I could change one thing about my life, I would move to a big city. |
| 2. Body | Two or three imaginary situations and their results. Use If + Past Simple, would/could/might + verb, and link with connectors. | If I lived there, I would have more chances, and I might find a better job. |
| 3. Closing | A final comment about reality or a wish | Of course, it is only a dream — but if I never dreamed, life would be grey. |
Imagine a different life. Write about what you would do if your life were different. Use the Second Conditional.
Değerlendirme öğretmenin tarafından yapılacak. (Your teacher will evaluate your writing.)
Mixed questions from the whole unit, then check what you can do.
14 questions: grammar + vocabulary + reading + listening. Each question is marked instantly.
Tick what you can do now. Honest answers help your teacher.
İşaretlemediğin madde varsa ilgili bölüme dönüp tekrar çalış — soldaki menüden her bölüme geri dönebilirsin.
Oturum kontrol ediliyor...