[bad word] /www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1159_gramchallenge38/
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Catherine's Grammar Explanation: 2nd Conditional:

Task for challenger: Elena and Matt are getting ready to go on holiday. What is Elena
worried about and why?
Elena: Have you got everything Matt?Where's your passport?
Matt: Don't worry Elena, it's in a really safe place. I'm not going to lose it.
Elena: Oh gosh Matt, I hope not. If you lost your passport it would take ages to get another one,
and it'd cost you a fortune!
Matt: And if it cost me a fortune, I wouldn't be able to take you on holiday again, would I?

Hi Anna! Well done: Elena's worried about Matt losing his passport. She thinks it would take a lot of
time and money to get a new one. But Matt told her it's in a safe place, so he isn't very likely to lose it.
When we talk about things which are unlikely to happen, or which won't happen because they are
impossible, we can use the 2nd conditional. This [bad word] puts if and the past simple together with
would and the infinitive. Here's Elena:
Elena: If you lost your passport it would take ages to get another one…
Let's break that down. First, she says if you lost your passport – that's if with a past simple verb – lost.
The past simple shows that there's only a small possibility of this happening. To give the possible
result of losing the passport, she uses would with the infinitive without to, like this:
Elena: …it would take ages to get another one
Here's another example. This time, Elena's using the short form of would.
Elena: …and it’d cost you a fortune
Of course as well as would, we can use wouldn't.
Matt: And if it cost me a fortune, I wouldn't be able to take you on holiday again, would I?
Ok, that's all from me. Good luck with your grammar challenge!
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