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2nd Conditional in “The Light”

April 20, 2013 by Stephen Mayeux

Common, a hip-hop performer from Chicago, released one of the best hip-hop songs about love. In “The Light” (2000), he writes a letter to a woman that describes their strong and loving relationship.

 If heaven had a height, you would be that tall.

This grammar is called the second conditional. Use the second conditional for unreal or hypothetical situations in the present or future.

If + subject + simple past verb, subject + would + base verb

  • If I had $10,000,000, I would quit my job. I don’t have ten million dollars, and I probably won’t have that money soon. This situation is unreal.
  • If I lived in Colombia, I would learn  Spanish very quickly. I live in California with my wife. She loves California, and she will be upset if we leave. 
  • If I were President of the United States, I would listen to international students. I am not the President, and I will probably never be one!
    • Normally, I was / You were / She was / We were / They were
    • In the second conditional, always use were, even if the subject is first or third person.

Are you in a relationship? Are you happy with your partner? If you had more free time, would you write love song? Please write your comments below!

Filed Under: Grammar, Level 4, Students Tagged With: Chicago, Common, conditional, grammar, love, relationships

About The Founder

Stephen Mayeux is the founder of ESLhiphop.com. He used to be an English Teacher, but now he lives in Austin, TX and works as a software developer.

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