“What would you do with more money?”
The words you are given
- around
- I would
- I had
- the world
- If
- more money,
- would
- travel
The order that works
If I had more money, I would travel around the world.
Build a Sentence
Second conditional: If + past, would + base
Second conditional expresses unreal or unlikely situations. The if-clause uses past tense; the main clause uses "would/could" + base verb.
6 worked examplesConditionals
The pattern
If + past, Subject + WOULD + base verb.
Worked examples
6 shown
Word order shown is Reach120’s reading of standard English usage for this sentence. ETS does not publish a correct/incorrect judgement for individual items, and this is not an official score.
“What would happen without water?”
The words you are given
- there were
- no water,
- not
- survive
- plants could
- here
- plants
- If
The order that works
If there were no water, plants could not survive here.
“What if you win the lottery?”
The words you are given
- I won
- I would
- the lottery,
- house
- If
- buy
- would
- a big
The order that works
If I won the lottery, I would buy a big house.
“What would you change about the policy?”
The words you are given
- bureaucratic procedures
- would eliminate
- will
- If I could
- change the
- policy, I
- entirely
- unnecessary
The order that works
If I could change the policy, I would eliminate unnecessary bureaucratic procedures entirely.
“What if you got promoted?”
The words you are given
- will
- I would
- I received
- If
- the corporate
- a promotion,
- relocate to
- headquarters
The order that works
If I received a promotion, I would relocate to the corporate headquarters.
“What would you do differently?”
The words you are given
- start over,
- career path
- choose
- different
- a completely
- will
- I would
- If I could
The order that works
If I could start over, I would choose a completely different career path.
Practice this pattern against the clock.
More conditionals patterns
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