Second Conditional + Hedging

Article excerpt · target grammar marked

If people were raised in collectivist societies, they were significantly more likely to sacrifice individuals to save groups. If they came from cultures that prioritise personal rights, they tended to protect individuals.

Grammar Reference · Second Conditional + Hedging

Second conditional —

If she were a moral agent, she would intervene immediately. — hypothetical present or future; were preferred for all subjects

Hedging with second

If we were truly impartial, we might sacrifice comfort for a stranger. — might/could softens certainty

Distancing for ethics

If culpability were shared, the dilemma would look very different. — distancing explores positions without personal commitment

Common error

If I would know... ✗ → If I knew... ✓ — never would in the if-clause

01Exercise 1 — Form · Write the Correct Form

Second Conditional + Hedging

1.If the scenario (involve) real culpability, the moral agent would hesitate far longer.

2.If she (be) truly impartial, she might weigh a stranger's life equally to her own.

3.If the ethical framework (not distinguish) between distance and proximity, global obligations would multiply.

4.If you (walk) past a drowning child and did nothing, you would feel genuine complicity.

5.If the thought experiment (produce) a universally accepted answer, philosophers would abandon it.

6.If cultural background (not shape) moral intuition, the Moral Machine data would look very different.

02Exercise 2 — Transform

rewrite with the new structure

1.She is not impartial, so she prioritises people she knows.

2.He has prior consent, so the action is ethically defensible.

3.Distance reduces obligation, which is why people rarely donate abroad.

4.The thought experiment resolves the dilemma, so it becomes arithmetic.

5.The moral agent cannot intervene, so culpability is shared.

6.The framework does not account for proximity, so its conclusions feel extreme.

03Exercise 3 — About You

in your notebook

Personalise: complete five sentences about yourself using the target grammar.

Second Conditional + Hedging01EnglishPlans.com