Second Conditional

We use the second conditional (also sometimes called the "present unreal conditional") to talk about a situation that is not real or is unlikely to happen and what might happen as a result.

For example, I might say, "If I had a million dollars, I would go on a trip around the world." I don't have a million dollars. That situation is unreal. But if I did have a million dollars, an around-the-world trip might happen.

The second conditional is formed with two clauses. The first clause consists of if + subject + past tense verb, as in "If I loved her...." The second clause is formed with "subject + would + verb, as in "...I would marry her." All together, the sentence looks like this: "If I loved her, I would marry her."

Note that you can also use should, could, or might instead of would with the second conditional.