Grammar / B1+ Grammar lessons and exercises / Second and third conditionals: Unreal conditionals
Fill in the gaps with the correct form of the verbs in brackets. There are forms of first, second and third conditionals in the text. Do NOT use short forms.
If the world's big problems had been addressed sooner, our lives 1 (improve) a long time ago. But politicians and world leaders don’t do enough to improve the quality of life. If I had any power, I 2 (try) to stop the destruction of our planet and I 3 (make) the world a better place for all people.
First of all, I would try to stop wars because unless we put an end to all the wars, millions of people 4 (continue) to die every day. If there were no wars, all children 5 (have) their parents at home to take care of them and provide for them, and they 6 (grow up) in a happier world.
Also, if I 7 (be) a world leader, I would provide clean water for all countries. If all countries 8 (have) easy access to clean water, millions of children 9 (stop) dying from diseases caused by the lack of clean water. If we don't do something about this issue soon, there 10 (be) lots of wars and deaths because of the lack of water.
We also need to introduce laws to reduce pollution. If we had done this in the past, millions of species 11 (never/become) extinct, and global warming 12 (never/start). If it were up to me, I 13 (introduce) very high taxes on fuel energy and at the same time I 14 (help) big companies to invest in clean energy. Unless we take measures now, it 15 (be) too late both for ourselves and our children.