What would you think if I sang out of tune? Would you stand up and walk out on me?
Eric Clapton sang: Would you know my name if I saw you in heaven? Would it be the same if I saw you in heaven?
And nobody hypothesized as passionately as Johnny Cash when he sang:
If I were a carpenter and you were a lady, would you marry me anyway? Would you have my baby?
Can you guess what these songs have in common? If you deduced that they all used the second English conditional (would + if + simple past), then you did your homework!
Formed by using would / could / should / might + if + simple past, this conditional describes hypothesis and unreal or imaginary conditions.
For example: If George Clooney proposed, I would marry him. That’s a truly imaginary and hypothetical situation, which will probably never happen, so I used the second conditional to express what is an unreal situation.
Some other, more practical examples are as follows:
I would drive to work if I had a car, but I live in New York so I take the subway.
If I had a dog, I would take it for long walks in the park, but I’m allergic.
I would have a big garden if I lived in the countryside, but I live in the city.
Think of things you would like to do, but that are probably unlikely, write them down and then practice saying them out loud.
Here are some prompts that can serve as guides:
What would you do if you won the lottery?
If you had a chance, what foreign country would you like to live in?
What famous movie star would you like to take out on a date?
What international company would you buy if you could?
What planet would you visit?
Remember to repeat the answers out loud to help make the learning process more automatic. Verb patterns and other grammar points, like lyrics in a song, are easier to remember if you say them out loud. That’s why it’s good to learn a foreign language with music. So now, click on the links below and sing along.
The Beatles, With a Little Help from My Friends
Johnny Cash, If I Were a Carpenter
