| Hi, everybody. My name is Alisha. In this lesson, I'm going to talk about the differences between the first conditional and the second conditional in English. Let's get started. |
| I want to begin this lesson by looking at the first conditional. So, the first conditional is an expression we use to talk about this style sentence pattern. There are a few ways that we can make a sentence that uses the first conditional. So, we have part of the sentence that uses the word "if," and then in the first conditional the part of the sentence that's in the same like group, that's in the same clause as the "if," is in present tense. The verb is in present tense here. Then, after this "if" clause, or in some cases before the verb that's used can be in future tense. So, that means "going to," "not going to," "will," or "won't." It can be present tense. So, present tense form of the verb. And, we can also use a command in this part. |
| So, we use these patterns to describe possible conditions or actions. And, when we use these patterns, we're talking about something that has a chance of happening. So, there's maybe a possibility that the situation can happen. We can refer to the present with the first conditional, something now, or we can refer to the future, something that's going to happen or something that's not going to happen. So, let's take a look at a lot of examples that use the first conditional. |
| First, "If I have time this weekend, I'll go shopping." "If I have time this weekend, I'll go shopping." So, the first part of this sentence is my if-clause. So, the "if-clause" means the part of the sentence that uses "if." In my if-clause, my verb, "have," is in present tense, "if I have time this weekend." Then, the second part of the sentence, we call this the "main clause," "I'll go shopping." In the main clause here, I've used "I'll." This is the reduced form of "I will." So, "I will go shopping." I've used a future tense expression. So, that means I'm describing a possible action in the future, in this case, because I've used future tense. "If I have time this weekend, I'll go shopping." |
| Let's look at another example. "If he doesn't call me back, I'm going to cancel the restaurant reservation." "If he doesn't call me back, I'm going to cancel the restaurant reservation." So, here is my if-clause. In this sentence, I'm using a negative present tense expression, "doesn't call." I've used "doesn't" here because my subject is "he." "If he doesn't call me back," so that means there's a chance the other person here will not call the speaker back. "If he doesn't call me back," if he doesn't return my phone call, "I'm going to cancel the restaurant reservation." So, again, in the main clause here, we see a future tense expression, "I'm going to cancel the restaurant reservation." That means if this action is true, or rather if this does not happen, I'm going to do this. So, this expresses a possible situation. This is a possible situation the speaker wants to express their plan if this is true. |
| Let's continue to the next one. "If you mix red and yellow, you can make orange." "If you mix red and yellow, you can make orange." This sentence is sharing a fact, yes. But, we're using this if-pattern to express it. So, here in the if-clause if you mix red and yellow, the verb again, "mix," is in present tense. "If you mix red and yellow." Here, in the main clause, "you can make orange," you can make orange. So, this is a simple present tense portion. This portion is simple present tense. So, we use simple present tense in a sentence like this to express a fact, a fact. You can make orange in this case. So, we want to talk about something that is always true. We're using it to describe a possible condition or a possible situation here. So, if you do this, you can make that. So, you might see this in recipes, or instructions, or just kind of when you're teaching someone something. You might see an "if," a clause followed by a main clause that uses present tense. |
| Okay. On to the next one. "If lots of people want to come to the party, we should reserve a big space." "If lots of people want to come to the party, we should reserve a big space." Here, my if-clause, "want," the main verb here is "want," present tense again. If lots of people, "If many people want to come to the party, we should reserve," we should reserve. So, this is expressing a little bit of advice, yeah. So, "we should reserve a big space." So, we're talking again about a future action if this is true. |
| Final example for this one. "If you don't study, you're not going to pass the test." If you don't study, you're not going to pass the test. So, this uses negative and negative. So, if you don't study -- again, present tense, yes, just a negative present tense, "you're not going to." So, future tense, yes, but also negative. So, "if you do not study now," presumably, in the future, "you are not going to pass the test." So, this is how we use the first conditional. To talk about our future plans, if a situation is true, or to express facts, like this. You might also hear it used for commands. Like, if he calls, tell me. Something like that. So, this is how we use the first conditional and how we make it. |
| Let's compare this now to the second conditional. The second conditional looks like this. We have, again, an if-clause, but inside the if-clause is "if," plus past tense. So, a past tense verb is used here. Then, our main clause uses "would" or "wouldn't," plus the infinitive form of a verb. So, we use the second conditional to describe unreal situations, and it's for situations that are unlikely to happen. There's a low possibility of that. So, that means something that is not true now and there's a very low chance of that situation or that condition happening. Very different from first conditional, where we're talking about possible conditions or possible situations. Also, second conditional refers to the present. We use second conditional to talk about unreal situations now. First conditional is used to refer to the present or to the future. We don't use second conditional to talk about the future. So, let's take a look at some examples of this. |
| First, "If I had more time, I would play sports every week." "If I had more time, I would play sports every week." So, here, "if I had more time," this "had" is the verb "have" in past tense. If I had more time, I would play sports every week. So, this sentence suggests the speaker does not have very much free time. If they did, the speaker says, "I would play sports." So, this "would" shows us it's an unreal situation. It's like expressing a plan for the future that's not a real future. That's when we use "would." So, we have to include this. I hear many learners forget "would." Like, "If I had more time, I play sports every week," or "I will play sports every week." We cannot use "will" or we cannot use "going to" here because this is unreal, this is not true. To match the unreal situation, we have to use "would" before our verb. "I would play sports every week." |
| Next example, "If I weren't attending a meeting, I would get lunch with you." "If I weren't attending a meeting, I would get lunch with you." Here, "weren't," this is negative, "If I were not." Another very common question about second conditional is using "was here." But, we use "if I were you." So, "If I was," something, something, something, is used to talk about the past actually. I'm not going to talk about that pattern today. If you're talking about the present and unreal present situation, use "if I were" or "if I were not." In this case, "if I weren't attending a meeting," which means the speaker is attending a meeting, the speaker is attending a meeting, "I would get lunch with you." So, you can use this if you get an invitation from a colleague. Like, "Hey! Do you want to get lunch today?" And, you might respond with, "Aw, if I weren't attending a meeting, I would get lunch with you." So, if this situation were not true in other words, my plan would be this. Again, we cannot use "will," we cannot use "going to." And, yes, you can change "get to eat." "I would get lunch with you," so this would be my plan. |
| Another example, "If your mother were here, she would be so angry with you." So, maybe you can use this to express disappointment in a young child. Like, the young child did something wrong. You could say, "If your mother were here," she's not here. "If your mother were here, she would be so angry with you." So, again, the child's mother is not in the situation, but we want to express if the child's mother were in the situation, she would be so angry. So, we want to talk about that condition. Her condition "would be angry," in this case. |
| Another example, "If you…" Oh, I'm sorry. I skipped one. "It would be really helpful if you spoke Chinese." "It would be really helpful if you spoke Chinese." So, here, you'll notice I've switched the if-clause and the main clause. In this lesson, I'm focusing on using the if-clause first, but it's okay to switch. You can put the main clause at the beginning if you want. It just depends on what you want to focus on in the sentence. So, "It would be really helpful if you spoke Chinese." So, maybe you're going to China, or you're in China, and someone comments, "Ah, it would be really helpful if you spoke Chinese." That means the listener does not speak Chinese, but the speaker thinks, "Ah, I wish you did. It would be really helpful if you spoke Chinese." So, that means the other person does not. The speaker just wants to express this other condition, this other situation. Again, it is not true. |
| Next one, last one. "If you made more money, you wouldn't be living in an old, small apartment." "If you made more money, you wouldn't be living in an old, small apartment." So, here, the speaker is talking to someone else, probably, who lives in an old small apartment. "If you made more money…" So, "If you made more money," means if you made more money than you do now, you would not be living… So, that means the speaker is living now in a small old apartment, in an old, small apartment. And, in this case, we're saying if this were true, which it is not, but if it were, you would not be in this place. You would be in some nicer place. So, this is the negative form. You would not be living in this apartment. So, we can use it to talk about unreal situations in the present. We don't use this to talk about the past or the future. This is a key difference with the first conditional. |
| So, this one is a little tricky. But, we often use it just to imagine something that is different from the way things are at this point in time. So, if we want to talk about like our dreams, maybe our hobbies, something we would like to do in the future, we can use second conditional to do that. We can also use it to express like regrets, and to make kind of soft rejections in this way, too. We can also use it to kind of give indirect advice as well. Like, "If you made more money, you wouldn't be living in this place." |
| So, this is a quick introduction to the differences between the first conditional and the second conditional. I hope that it was helpful for you. Thanks very much for watching this lesson, and I will see you again soon. Bye-bye. |
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