Conditionals

If-sentences, from real possibilities to imagined and impossible ones.

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Second conditional Imagined or unlikely situations: if I were you, I would… 1 rule

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Rules in this topic

A2
First conditional: no will in if-clause

Do not use 'will' or 'shall' in the if-clause of a first conditional sentence. Use the present simple.
B1
Wishes: I wish / if only + past

After 'I wish' or 'if only', use the past form for present wishes (I wish I had more time, not I wish I have).
B2
No "would have" in an if-clause

The if-clause of a third conditional never takes would have — use had: If I had known, not If I would have known.
B1
Second conditional: If I were

In hypothetical if-clauses, were is the usual formal choice: If I were rich, I would buy a house. With I, he, she, or it, was is also used in informal English. This does not apply to inverted clauses such as Were I rich.