Questions tagged [conditionals]
An independent clause that refers to a hypothetical situation contingent on another set of circumstance.
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Question regarding conditional sentences
" If you are coming to the races, bring that pretty mermaid of yours"
I wonder if someone could tell me the type of conditional sentence was used in the above-mentioned example?
Present ...
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Tense Consistency and Conditional Verb tense
I had just told someone that someone couldn't join our study group because he didn't have a good enough foundation.
As a reply, someone wished to say, "If he joins / joined our study group, he ...
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third conditional & perfect past
I know in order to have perfect past we must have a simple past too.
but in conditional type 3. I cannot see any simple past.
"If she had gone to university, she would have found a really good ...
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Can a conditional sentence contain more than one “if”?
For example, is the following sentence correct?
If you have 100 books, how many can you give away if you want to keep at least 20 of them?
I'd appreciate it if you could provide links where I can ...
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Changing clause of condition to absolute phrase and participle w
1a. When I have money I will buy a car.
2a. If my parents allow I'll go abroad.
Can these sentence be changed into a absolute participle phrase? For example
1b. Having money, I'll buy a car.
2b. ...
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Where are commas used with multiple if conditions that precede a statement (i.e. If [A] and if [B] then [C])?
E.g.
If it rains tommorow, and if I don't have an umbrella, I will get wet.
Or
If it rains tommorow and if I don't have an umbrella, I will get wet.
Which of these two is correct from a ...
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counterfactual if-clause and gerund
It appears that counterfactual if-clauses can modify gerunds, as the following demonstrates:
A: What would you do if you were a billionaire?
B: I would buy a caslte. Buying a medieval building if I ...
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Can “if” be used or construed as “since” or “if indeed”? [closed]
Here's my example:
"If we all agree on the basic terms, can we do a proper agreement next week."
Can this be construed (in the proper context) as:
"Since we all agree, can we..."?
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Can we use “I wish I saw” for a past situation?
In the series F.R.I.E.N.D.S, Joey makes a pass at Rachel because, according to himself, he saw Rachel first. When Rachel rejects it and convinces Joey that this would be a mistake, Joey says,
"...
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1answer
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asyndeton in speech
If I said, "This business deal will be a success a victory a triumph if we are able to secure the contract."
Is it clear that the "if" clause applies to "This business deal ...
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conditional phrases and series
If I said, "I will buy a designer handbag, Belgian chocolate, and a diamond ring if I get promoted."
Does the phrase "if I get promoted" apply only to the diamond ring? Why or why ...
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poetic license or incorrect mixed conditional
Recently, I have been reading Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and encountered the following boldfaced sentence:
Whence, I often asked myself, did the principle of life proceed? It was a bold question, ...
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a question about past conditional clauses
I was wondering all the time, how I can express just 'past' with 'if' in English?
And finally I found one sentence,
if you watched and listened to the previous podcast, you'll find that our favorite ...
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commas and asyndeton
If I write, "Destroying forests is a heinous action, a cruel tragedy if trees are cut for paper.
Does the "if" statement correspond to "a cruel tragedy" only or both "a ...
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3answers
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Is there a tendency among native speakers of English not to use “past perfect” for past conditional sentences? Perhaps they consider it “too correct”?
I often see in movies that the people engaged in a dialogue use the past simple tense in a conditional situation where the correct tense seems to be the past perfect. Is this because the past prefect ...
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1answer
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Is it grammatically possible to change the result clause in a conditional sentence to a participle clause? [closed]
Please consider the sentence below:
Parents have the same role in doing the household chores if both of them work.
Now I turn the first part into a participle clause while adding another sentence ...
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Which tense to use with if clause
I need to describe what a thing does. I have the following expression:
It deletes photos from the Favorites database if the user didn't undo "Remove all" action.
Is it correct? Should I use ...
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2answers
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what is the main clause in conditional sentences
I have a compound sentence followed by an if clause, how do I know what the if clause is referring to?
Sam will become a husband and a stepfather if he will marry Jane.
My understanding is that the ...
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Use of would have in hypothetical conditions
I am still a bit confused about this , can we use would have to indicate a task which someone may have done but you're not sure if they did it or not , or how they did it.
For example in this sentence ...
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1answer
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I don't vs I can't
what's the difference with "If I drink coffee, I don't sleep. vs If I drink coffee, I can't sleep."
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Transformation of tenses in conditional sentences
which one of these is more appropriate -
If she knew i was with someone who i didn't even know she would be worried .
If she knew i am with someone who i don't even know she would be worried .
And ...
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1answer
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How to use “If you were in my shoes ”
I'm confused regarding uses of this idiom as clause
For example
If I were in your shoes , I wouldn't have done that .
Well clearly the speaker is talking about something that has already happened ...
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2answers
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Is it ever correct to say “if I be…” in present-day English?
We are taught that in "type 0" and "type 1" conditional sentences, the tense of the condition clause (aka the "if" clause) should always be the normal present tense, as ...
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2answers
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Is it correct to make a request with a sentence that has if-clause but no then-clause?
I often hear sentences like these in online meetings:
If you could move to the next slide please.
If you could reply to that email.
Shouldn't these sentences be said like this:
If you could move ...
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2answers
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Is it grammatically correct to use “if” and “or not” in the same sentence?
My student's workbook states that the following sentence is grammatically incorrect because "if" and "or not" can not be used in the same sentence:
āLet's find out if there was ...
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1answer
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Use of conditional sentence?
Oh, I'm not sad. I made sure I've got a lotta dreams, so if one breaks, I can/could pursue another.
Should I follow up with can or could after the "if" clause?
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Why “should” following “It wouldn't be at all strange…”?
Why did the writer use should before the word find here?
It would not be at all strange if some obscene words and gestures should find expression.....There was considerable humour, very broad humour ...
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2answers
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If I were or If I was [duplicate]
Now I'm abroad, and my girlfriend is still in my country, her birthday was two days ago and I said " If I were there, I would do everything I could to pamper you"
Is that the correct usage ...
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When/Where possible vs. When/Where it is possible: is it required to use “it is”?
Examples 1a and 1b:
Be realistic when possible.
Be realistic when it is possible.
Examples 2a and 2b:
When possible, be realistic.
When it is possible, be realistic.
Are all of these examples ...
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How can I classify the following conditional sentences?
I was watching this video. It classifies conditionals as follows:
I see that these variations are missing:
(Present ā Past) If I say something, I destroyed everything.
(Present Perfect ā Present ...
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3answers
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Use of conditional sentences
I'm wondering what is the correct way to formulate the following sentence:
If the trekkers had chosen a shorter route, they would have been in trouble now, but fortunately they didn't.
or
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Subjunctive Mood in Past Tense, Historical, Narratives
I have a question about use of the subjunctive in past tense narratives.
The quoted passage is from Keith Thomasās Religion and the Decline of Magic, a sort of cultural history of England in the ...
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Subjunctive Conditionals in the Past Tense
Is a sentence such as the one that follows grammatical and logical:
I was worried I would have lost a letter grade if I were to hand in the paper late.
I know the subjunctive, being a mood, can be ...
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That-clause object complement for reported conditional sentence
What is the correct way to write this sentence?
Smith and Jones argue that, since the beginning of the century, tables had shared certain basic features with chairs.
I am confused about what ...
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Second conditional Sentences
Second conditional has always been a matter of confusion for me , can it be used while referring to a past condition , I know third conditional is used while referring to a past condition but still i ...
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1answer
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Alternative if-then tenses
I have a question about two āif-thenā sentences.
If [past tense] + [past tense]: If they knew, they didnāt say.
If [past tense] + [future tense]: If he missed yesterday, he will be here today.
...
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Second-Level Conditional and the Subjunctive
Does the second-level conditional such as, āIf I studied harder, I would do better on the test,ā derive from the subjunctive? Or does it belong to its own ātenseā (or perhaps āmoodā) in the English ...
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Past, hypothetical situation and a present, real one
Is it grammatically correct to say,ā if you had worked hard, I would buy you a chocolateā?
The first part is the past, hypothetical situation, whereas, the second one is the present, hypothetical ...
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1answer
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Irrealis āwereā following āas ifā
Is the subjunctive āwereā in the sentence, āHe seems as if he were spell-bound,ā construed as counterfactual? Does it always preclude truth, or does it only here suggest that it was highly improbable ...
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Third Conditional “even if I had got”
What does the sentence below imply?
"I wouldn't have studied even if I had got the book."
As per my knowledge, implication should be ā I wouldn't study regardless of condition; the first phrase is ...
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Wh word with third conditional
I simply want to know what this sentence will imply-
" Why would you have gone there if you hadn't liked that place ? "
As we know third conditional sentences are used in case of hypothetical ...
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1answer
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Third Conditional sentences
What will it imply if i say " Wouldn't it have been amazing if you had come home earlier "
As per my knowledge it simply implies that it wasn't amazing since you didn't come earlier .
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Interrogative negative in conditional sentence
What will this sentence imply -
Wouldn't it have been better if you had come earlier?
As we know the negative form of this sentence will imply that "it was better" but it wouldn't have been if ...
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Is conjunction reduction possible within an if's compound apodosis?
I have the following sentence:
If the researcher knew the mechanism, any feature of the population would be known, any (causal) relationships in the population would be completely traceable, and ...
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Confusing conditional
I have come across sentences using past tense in if-clause and present tense in the main clause, such as:
1) A hamster is pregnant for only about three weeks and up to 20 babies can seemingly appear ...
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Advise on ''Would after if''
Can you advise on the validity of "if you'd"?
How often do you hear it and use it?
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Is it feasible to use “provided that” in second conditionals or third conditionals?
I would really appreciate it if someone could let me know whether it is feasible to use "provided that" or "providing that" with third or second conditional statements. I mean, is it appropriate to ...
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If Conditional with Present perfect
Someone has been searching for his spectacles for an hour. He is thinking that someone has hidden his spectacles and asks one of his friends whether he is hiding them or not. His friend says, " If I ...
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How can I describe an assumption of a past event? [closed]
Assume that Alice took an exam last week and she got its result yesterday. So she knows whether she passed the exam or not.
Now here is Bob. He does not know the result of Alice's exam yet. And Bob ...
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2answers
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“What happens when a volcano erupts.” vs “What will happen when a volcano erupts.”
Which will you prefer to say; "What happens when a volcano erupts." or "What will happen when a volcano erupts.". Please give your answer from a grammatical prospective and your native sense of ...
