English Grammar Exercises for A2 – Second conditional

1. Complete the second conditional sentences with the correct form of the verbs below.

be      can      feel      have      help      not stay up      not take      win

1) If you had a problem, I ____________ you.

2) If I ____________ more time, I’d see more of friends.

3) I ____________ the bus to school if I had a bike.

4) If you ____________ so late, you wouldn’t be so tired in the morning.

5) How ____________ you ____________ if Sam didn’t invite you to his party?

6) parents ____________ cross if I didn’t revise for exams.

7) You ____________ afford a new mobile if you didn’t waste your money on DVDs and games.

8) If I ____________ the lottery, I’d buy mum a new car.

Show answers

1) would help   2) had   3) wouldn’t take

4) didn’t stay up   5) would ___ feel   6) would be

7) could   8) won

2. Complete the money-saving tips with the correct form of the verbs in brackets.

READERS’ top tips!

We asked readers what they would do if they needed to save money. Here are their ideas!

1) If we ____________ (drive) more slowly, we ____________ (not use) so much petrol.

2) If we only ____________ (buy) the food we needed, we ____________ (not throw) so much food away.

3) If we ____________ (borrow) books and DVDs from libraries, we ____________ (not have to) buy them.

4) If we ____________ (drink) water from the tap rather than bottled water, we ____________ (save) a lot of money.

5) If everyone ____________ (wear) an extra jumper or two in the winter, they ____________ (can) turn down their heating and save money.

6) If degree courses ____________ (be) shorter, students ____________ (spend) less on tuition fees and accommodation.

7) If we ____________ (turn off) the lights every time we left a room, we ____________ (not use) so much electricity.

Show answers

1) drove, wouldn’t use   2) bought, wouldn’t throw

3) borrowed, wouldn’t have to   4) drank, would save

5) wore, could   6) were, would spend

7) turned off, wouldn’t use

3. Complete the second conditional questions in the quiz below with the correct form of the verbs in brackets. Then do the quiz.

What would you do if ___

1) you ____________ (see) a road accident?

film it on mobile

call the police

help the people in the accident

2) your friend ____________ (give) you a present that you ____________ (not like)?

throw it away

ask your friend to change it

keep it and say nothing

3) you ____________ (can) speak perfect English?

move to Britain or the USA

become an interpreter

learn more languages

4) you ____________ (know) that a classmate was cheating in an exam?

tell the teacher

talk to the classmate about it

nothing

5) you ____________ (break) your friend’s mobile?

give him / her your mobile

buy a new one

say that you didn’t break it

6) you ____________ (find) €100 in school?

keep it

give it to a teacher

give it to a charity

Show answers

1) saw   2) gave, didn’t like   3) could   4) knew

5) broke   6) found

Students’ own answers

4. Now write your answers to the quiz in exercise 3 as conditional sentences.

1) If I saw a road accident, I’d ________

2) _____

3) _____

4) _____

5) _____

6) _____

Show answers

your own answers

5. Combine the two ideas to make second conditional sentences.

1) (Janine / stay in London) (she / find another job there)

 __________.

2) (I / win the lottery) (I / buy a huge house)

 __________.

3) (Steve / start his own company) (he / can find investors)

 __________.

4) (prices / not be so high) (I / buy more things)

 __________.

5) (you / not spend so much on food) (you / use coupons)

 __________.

6) (Alison / not so shy) (she / be a better salesperson)

 __________.

7) (I / not be able to run business) (I / not have a mobile)

 __________.

8) (someone / make me a good offer) (I / sell house)

      ________.

Show answers

1) If Janine stayed in London, she’d find another job there. / Janine would stay in London if she found another job there.

2) If I won the lottery, I would buy a huge house.

3) Steve would start his own company if he could find enough investors.

4) If prices were not so high, I would buy more things.

5) You wouldn’t spend so much on food if you used coupons.

6) If Alison wasn’t so shy, she would be a better salesperson.

7) I wouldn’t be able to run business if I didn’t have a mobile.

8) If someone made me a good offer I would sell house.

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