are going to speak
like that, you'll have to leave.
Should in the if-clause makes the condition less likely:
If you
should see
Kate, say hi from me.
In the if-clause, willingness can be expressed by will and refusal by won't. In this sense will and won't are always stressed in speech and cannot be contracted with the subject in writing:
If you
will take
me to the airport tomorrow, I won't have to take a taxi.
If Greg
won't answer
the phone, I'll speak to his roommate.
We can also use will in the if-clause to express a polite request. Sometimes the main clause is omitted:
If you
will wait
for a moment, I'll see if Mr Hawking is available.
If you
'll
just
fill in
this form, please.
Quotes:
You will never find time for anything. If you want time, you must make it. - Charles Buxton
Related topics:
BE GOING TO
Modals to express obligation: MUST, HAVE (GOT) TO
Modals to express permission / prohibition: CAN, COULD, MAY, MIGHT, BE ALLOWED TO, MUSTN'T, BE TO
Modals to express possibility: MAY, MIGHT, CAN, COULD
Modals to express requests: CAN, COULD, WILL, WOULD
Modals to express suggestions: SHOULD, COULD, MIGHT, SHALL
Modals to express willingness / unwillingness: WILL, WOULD
Second conditional
IF + PAST SUBJUNCTIVE | WOULD + INFINITIVE (SIMPLE OR CONTINUOUS)
The second conditional can describe an unreal situation with reference to the present. We imagine a hypothetical situation which contrasts with reality:
If I
knew
the answer, I'
d tell
you.
Here If I knew the answer means that I don't know the answer.
In the if-clause, we use the past subjunctive form of the verb, which is identical to the past simple tense except in the case of the verb be. Traditionally, the past subjunctive form of be is were for all persons including the first and third person singular. However, nowadays I/he/she/it was is more common, while were is mainly used in formal styles and in the set phrase if I were you:
If I
lived
by the sea, I would be lying on the beach right now.
If he
was/were
taller, he would make a good basketball player.
If I
were
you, I'd stop smoking.
The second conditional can also express a theoretically possible but unlikely future situation. In the following examples, the conditions in the if-clause are possible but are not likely to be fulfilled:
If the Third World War
broke out
, it
would
probably
mean
the end of humankind.
If you
missed
the 6 o'clock train, you
wouldn't get
here before 7.
If I
lost
my job, I
would be
in serious trouble.
Compare the first and second conditionals when they refer to possible future actions:
If you
miss
the 6 o'clock train, you
won't get
here before 7.
(first conditional, the condition is probable, you may miss the train)
If you
missed
the 6 o'clock train, you
wouldn't get
here before 7.
(second conditional, the condition is possible but unlikely, you probably won't miss the train)
Sometimes a sentence may look like a second conditional, but in fact it is not:
If he
was
angry, he
would
always
shout
and
slam
doors.
This is actually a zero conditional that refers to past time. Here was in the if-clause is not a past subjunctive but the past tense of be, while would in the main clause expresses repeated past actions.
Quotes:
What would I do if I had only six months left to live? I'd type faster. - Isaac Asimov
If it weren't for the fact that the TV set and the refrigerator are so far apart, some of us wouldn't get any exercise at all. - Joey Adams
If people behaved like governments, you'd call the cops. - Kelvin Throop
If cats could talk, they wouldn't. - Nan Porter
The soul would have no rainbow if the eyes had no tears. - Native American proverb
How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were? - Satchel Paige
We would accomplish many more things if we did not think of them as impossible. - Vince Lombardi
Related topics:
Past subjunctive
The modal WOULD to express unreal situations
Wishes about the present
IT'S (HIGH) TIME
AS IF / AS THOUGH
WOULD RATHER / WOULD SOONER + simple or continuous infinitive
WOULD RATHER / WOULD SOONER + clause with the past subjunctive
Past continuous subjunctive in the second conditional
The past continuous subjunctive can be used in the if-clause of a sentence in the second conditional to express an unreal action in the present which is imagined as continuous:
If it
wasn't raining
, we would have lunch outside.
(it is raining)