when speaking in the second conditional what tense(s) can be used in the dependent clause
English conditional sentences "Second conditional" or "conditional II" refers to a pattern used to describe hypothetical, typically counterfactual situations with a present or future time frame (for past time frames the third conditional is used). In the normal form of the second conditional, the condition clause is in the past tense (although it does not have past meaning. see Use of the past subjunctive), and the consequence is expressed using the conditional construction with the auxiliary would: