Second conditional

THE SECOND CONDITIONAL

The second conditional has the past simple after 'if', then the past future simple in the other clause: 

If + past simple (CONDITION), would + infinitive (MAIN CLAUSE). 

It's mainly used present and unreal past tenses and describes present or future situations that are not very likely to happen or situations that now are actually impossible but perhaps were possible at some point in the past. 

It is formed by using “If” and the simple past tense in the condition part of the sentence, followed by “would” and the basic form of a verb in its main clause. 

We use the 2nd conditional, as mentioned, for unlikely situations that can but probably won’t happen, as well as hypothetical or imaginary situations both in the present and future. 

These examples talk about things in the future that are probably not going to be true and maybe imagining some dream for example.

If I won the lottery, I would buy a big house. 

If I met my favorite actress Gal Gadot, I would say hello to him. 

She would travel to Israel and meet Gal Gadot if she was rich. 

She would pass the exam if she ever studied. 

These additional two sentences use to talk about something in the present which is impossible because it's not true. 

If I had Gal Gadot’s number, I would call her. (I don't have her number now, so it's impossible for me to call her). 

If I were you, I wouldn't go out with that man.