An independent clause that refers to a hypothetical situation contingent on another set of circumstance.
0
votes
1answer
91 views
First conditional with “would” instead of “will”
Consider the following sentence with a first conditional:
If it rains tomorrow, I will go to the cinema.
All the examples of first conditionals that I found use "will" instead of ...
3
votes
2answers
77 views
Wording an 'If-Then' Statement Tense
I need help phrasing the last part of this conditional sentence (assume I can't change the first conditional statement):
If I died tomorrow, I would have wanted to go skydiving.
or
If I ...
31
votes
13answers
1k views
Why do I instinctively want to use the present tense with a conditional?
My boss is not a native speaker of English, so he often asks me to correct his writing. The problem is, he wants me to explain why I make changes, and doesn't accept "it just sounds better that way" ...
0
votes
0answers
28 views
was vs were in hypothetical conditionals [duplicate]
Would it be considered incorrect if I said, "If it were 80 degrees outside, I would be at the pool", as opposed to, "If it was 80 degrees outside, I would be at the pool"?
2
votes
2answers
85 views
Tense agreement in conditional statements: “I could do whatever I want” vs. “I could do whatever I wanted”
Consider the following sentences:
If I had my own place, I could do whatever I want.
If I had my own place, I could do whatever I wanted.
She said I could do whatever I want.
She ...
44
votes
4answers
3k views
How do the tenses in English correspond temporally to one another?
Non-native speakers often get confused about what the tenses in English mean. With input from some of the folk here I've put together a diagram that I hope will provide some clarity on the matter.
I ...
1
vote
2answers
121 views
Future Subjunctive
I have a few issues to discuss linked to the Future Subjunctive.
1) Can "If I were you." mean the same as "If I were to be you." In other words, can "If I were you." have the reference to the future ...
1
vote
1answer
106 views
Tense agreement after “if it means that”
I've read that in conditional sentences, tenses don't have to match. Is this true for sentences that contain "if it means"? In the examples below, I'm trying to say something like "I won't write to ...
-2
votes
2answers
87 views
Can I use the 3rd conditional that way? [closed]
Is the sentence given below grammatically correct?
Had you born two days later and it would have been difficult to celebrate your birthdays.
Is it the only option to use the third conditional to ...
0
votes
5answers
636 views
Difference in meaning: “would have had to be” vs “would have had to have been”
Being a non native speaker, I cannot spot the difference here:
He would have had to have been there.
He would have had to be there.
The only thing that comes to my mind is that in the first case, ...
1
vote
0answers
34 views
The verb “should” as a conjunction [duplicate]
Here is the phrase from Wikipedia:
CFO Peter Klein has said that Microsoft has no alternate plan should its current mobile strategy fail.
Another example:
Should Microsoft’s tablet and phone ...
1
vote
3answers
766 views
The third conditional for “if I could”
What is the third conditional for "if I could"? For example, we say:
If I had studied hard, I would have passed the exam. How about this:
If I could study, I would have passed the exam.[Is ...
-2
votes
3answers
93 views
Should I insert is/was/were after an 'if'? [closed]
I have the following sentence:
if the foo is/was/were a bar and the baz truck a qux, how does the
working of a baz relate to coaching?
Should it be is/was/were? Searching the internet just ...
4
votes
3answers
174 views
Can the Future Perfect be used in a main clause of a conditional sentence that has a stative/non-action verb in the if-clause?
A student asked me this question today about a sentence like:
(1) If Canada's population is 40 million, the Canadian economy will have been more dynamic.
I was asked if it corresponded, in a future ...
3
votes
2answers
385 views
When is “will” used in an “if” clause?
Given the following sentences that use will in the if clause (which is seldom with if-clauses and therefore, I'm not sure they all are even grammatical or not).
If you will/would kindly lend me ...
1
vote
3answers
800 views
Is “even if…” followed by present or future tense?
Is it correct to say:
even if only James Bond will benefit from...
or
even if only James Bond benefits from...
2
votes
4answers
5k views
“If I go..” vs. “If I will go..” referring to the future [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Future tense in conditional clauses
Which one is correct?
option 1: If I go there, I can meet her
or
option 2: If I will go there, I can meet her
I clearly ...
8
votes
5answers
2k views
Future tense in conditional clauses
All the textbooks I have ever come across during the course of my studying English emphasize that future tense should not be used in conditional clauses.
For example,
If it rains in the evening, ...
11
votes
5answers
663 views
“When I am 18, I will…” or “When I will be 18, I will…” [duplicate]
Should I say:
When I am 18, I'll take my driving test
or
When I'll be 18, I'll take my driving test
Which one is the correct sentence?
1
vote
1answer
203 views
What is the correct way to construct a conditional sentence with “would”?
I was told several times that a conditional sentence with the following structure is incorrect:
If I would do this, then he would do that.
Rather it should be:
If I do this, then he will do ...
-1
votes
1answer
71 views
A conditional with present tense vs. the subjunctive?
I may just be in my own head, but I'm trying to figure out how these two sentences differ:
If you walk down the street, you'll see an oak tree.
If you were to walk down the street, you'd see ...
1
vote
3answers
140 views
Saying about many related events in the future
My question relates to these questions :
Conditionals in the future
Future tense in conditional clauses
“If I go..” vs. “If I will go..” referring to the future
About two mutually related, future ...
3
votes
2answers
132 views
“when” + conditional sentence + tense
1: She said she would do it when she came home.
2: She said she would do it when she comes home.
Which is correct, and why?
3
votes
3answers
125 views
“If it was not cold, I would like more” — conditional
Now I'm having hard time on something.
I ate something yesterday and it was cold. Now grammatically, it must be
If it was not cold, I would like it more.
But I feel like it does not sound right, ...
0
votes
1answer
100 views
Conditional statement
On Facebook, Libyans started inviting each other to something like random gift giving event on the occasion of Feb, 17, in Libya. It is a very good idea. Giving a gift to somebody else you don't know ...
0
votes
4answers
204 views
If I Were You and You Were I
These are song lyrics, so there's poetic license--yes. However, it raises a grammar question that some friends and I have wondered about for years.
Song goes:
If for a moment I were you, and you ...
2
votes
6answers
5k views
“won't” vs. “wouldn't”
Are these two words interchangeable? How do you know when to use one or the other?
For some sentences it is easy to know which one to use, but not for others. The type of sentences that are difficult ...
2
votes
3answers
295 views
Second conditional when making plans for the future: “If it rained tomorrow, I would go to the cinema.”
If it rained tomorrow, I would go to the cinema.
If it didn't rain tomorrow, I would go to school.
Which conditional is the best for this use case? Is it correct to use the Second ...
4
votes
1answer
197 views
Trouble with second conditionals (with **could**)
"I would do B if you could do A."
This is a statement which has been bothering me for quite a while. I come across such statements often and, to me, they make no sense. Could is the subjunctive of ...
7
votes
5answers
514 views
What's the tense for repetitive past action?
In English, "would" usually denotes a conditional voice. "If I were sleepy, I would go to bed."
But I've caught myself using it to denote repetitive or habitual past action. "On Thursdays, we would ...
6
votes
5answers
1k views
“If I knew you're coming I wouldn't have come”
Is the statement
If I knew you're coming I wouldn't have come
correct? Should we use
If I had known you're coming, I wouldn't have come
instead? Please consider American-British ...
1
vote
2answers
2k views
Usage of “would have been”
In the movie "A Walk to remember" Jimmie's father says the following to his son-in-law who got into medical school. Actually Jimmie is dead when he says,
We are proud of you, son. Jimmie would ...
8
votes
2answers
742 views
“Will have” vs. “Would have”
By the end of the year, I would have attended this school for five years.
Of course, the "most" correct way of writing this would be:
By the end of the year, I will have attended this school ...
3
votes
5answers
154 views
Right tense for conditional event in nondescript time?
What is the right tense to describe an event that might have occured, be occuring or occur in the future, if (not) for something that happened in the past?
Unike, in the examples, which anchor the ...
3
votes
6answers
1k views
How to correctly write this conditional phrase?
I’m struggling with a conditional clause. This one is easy:
If I were you, I would do xyz ...
But I have these three statements:
I was a student.
It was my vacation.
My professor ...
1
vote
4answers
401 views
What to use for hypothetically completed future actions
I was talking to a friend where I had to make a hypothetical statement about an activity that was completed in the future. So I came up with the following statements.
If he continued college, he ...
2
votes
2answers
299 views
Past perfect sentence in “I would have killed the snake if I had hit him…”
Is the following a correct past perfect sentence?
I would have killed the snake if I had hit him hard with a stick.
6
votes
2answers
647 views
Use of “should have” in conditional sentences
In Return of the Soldier (1918) I came across what appears to be a conditional sentence:
I never should have got this telegram if me and my husband hadn't been down there last September and told ...
7
votes
3answers
730 views
Different conditional clauses — “if you saw”, “if you were to see”, “if you had seen”
Given the following sentences, what is the difference between the conditional clauses in them?
If you saw a lion in a thick forest, what would you do?
If you were to see a lion in a thick ...
0
votes
1answer
133 views
“Would have” in the following
Reading a J.K Rowling book, I came across the following:
It's only dying a bit later than I would have, because I am never going to the dark side!
Is the would have part compete here or ...
2
votes
3answers
974 views
past perfect + would have + ed-participle / past simple + would + infinitive
Could you clarify difference between sentences:
If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses
If I asked people what they wanted, they would say faster horses
...
0
votes
2answers
263 views
Tense for second sentence in conditional statements
I run into the following sitatution:
If he had bothered Mike, he would have bothered him back so much that he would have forgotten about bothering anyone in his life again.
Is 'would have' the ...
7
votes
3answers
419 views
“Would have” in conditional clauses
I have been taught to use the if I had form in conditional clauses referring to the past:
If the president had asked me, I would have told him the same thing.
As far as I can tell though, the ...
5
votes
2answers
4k views
“I would have never said” vs. “I would never say”
I know a lot of questions have been asked about would or would have but I haven't found any answers that help me understand this three-party conversation, with C possibly a native speaker:
A: How ...
0
votes
2answers
302 views
would have and would in non conditional statements
Can we use both would have and would in non conditional past statements? For example:
Last year during the summer, I would go home on weekends. past habitual
Last year during the summer, I ...
1
vote
1answer
320 views
Third conditional would have and would
I read the following on a website and I was wondering if it was okay? Because the books only talk about the standard three forms. What would it mean if we changed the second part of the statement to ...
5
votes
3answers
11k views
When should I use “Would”, “Would have”, “Will”, and “Will have”?
I hope someone, once and for all, can clarify (with examples) the difference in usage of will vs. would vs. would have vs. will have.
2
votes
1answer
14k views
“have been” versus “had been” in questions [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How do the tenses in English correspond temporally to one another?
"I can tell that he's not English, but I wouldn't had been able to tell that he's french if you didn't ...
5
votes
3answers
242 views
“Even were he not to…”
I am currently reading "Do androids dream of electric sheep?" by P.K. Dick and I have come across a grammatical structure I don't quite understand. The excerpt is the following (no spoilers, don't ...
5
votes
5answers
525 views
Is it correct to say: “I would do something, be it me”?
I mean that "I would do something, if it only were me. But it was not me, so I've done nothing".
