Questions tagged [conditionals]
An independent clause that refers to a hypothetical situation contingent on another set of circumstance.
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How do the tenses and aspects in English correspond temporally to one another?
Non-native speakers often get confused about what the various tenses
and aspects mean in English. With input from some of the folk here I've
put together a diagram that I hope will pro...
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When to use "If I was" vs. "If I were"?
If I was...
If I were...
When is it correct to use "If I was" vs. "If I were" in standard English?
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how many conditional sentence types are possible?
I wonder how many conditional sentence types are possible. Basically, there are four main and two mixed types. By mixing tenses, it could be up to nine of them. Are the rest viable?
I came across the ...
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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.
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"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 remember, ...
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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, we ...
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The use of "were- should- had” at the beginning of sentences instead of “if”
Conditionals in English are usually formed by using if with normal word order; but for the three past (subjunctive) forms were, should, and had, it is also possible to express the conditional through ...
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Conditional sentences not starting with "if"
Were I rich, I would live on Long Island.
If I were rich, I would live on Long Island.
Is the first sentence still used, or is used in particular contexts (in example, to give emphasis to the ...
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What does “would not have been possible had I remained” mean?
What does this mean?
I am sure this would not have been possible had I remained a typical Anglophone North American.
I have never heard that before and I really find it strange.
I deduce that it ...
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If I were him, I would doubt if she (is/was/were?) serious about this relationship
Which one is correct?
If I were him, I would doubt if she is serious about this relationship.
If I were him, I would doubt if she was serious about this relationship.
If I were him, I would doubt if ...
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English Conditionals and "would"
I'm having a discussion with my wife on English conditionals.
She says we cannot have "would" in a hypothetical if statement:
If I would want to change my address, should I let you know?
She says ...
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Subjunctive mood: 'was' usage after 'I wish' and 'if only'
SFX Magazine had declared the sentence below as follow: 1) STAR TURN, 2) BEST LINES.
I wish Bernard Cribbins was my grandad. Perhaps he would be willing to
adopt?
Rattigan: “If only that was ...
user19148
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Can "would" be used twice in an English conditional sentence and still be grammatical?
I know how conditional if clause sentences work. I'm aware of the rules which I have to follow. However, I sometimes use would after would which of course is incorrect in terms of grammar.
Is there ...
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Speculative conditional: Why does it use the past tense or past perfect tense?
We use simple past to state a hypothetical present situation that we would like to speculate about (If they were here, I would be happy), past perfect for a hypothetical past (had they been here, I ...
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"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 ...
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"would" and "will"
which one is correct OR what is the difference between the following sentences:
I think the duration of the meeting would be two hours.
I think the duration of the meeting will be two hours.
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"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 ...
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Correct usage of 'but for'?
Does 'but for' mean:
'If we had X (but we didn't), Y would have been the consequence'?
Or can it also mean; because we had X, as a result Y happened?
Some different examples of but for:
(Case 1)
...
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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 "would." ...
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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 ...
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Which dialects of English consider "would" to be a polite form of "will"?
My recent trip to India exposed me to many sentences using "would" as a polite substitute for "will", as in
Please make sure to leave on time. The last bus would depart at 8PM.
...
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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 ...
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Must conditional sentences begin with "if?"
I've been looking at conditional sentences (conditional clauses).
Every example I've see is along the lines of, "if [x] then [y]."
I've seen alternatives/substitutes for the if part:
were I ...
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Usage of "will" and "would"
Which one is correct?
What would I do without you.
What will I do without you.
You would always be my favorite travel buddy.
You will always be my favorite travel buddy.
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"If there were" vs. "if there was" [closed]
I saw that there were already examples on this, but I didn't find any specific enough. My problem is this sentence:
If there were anything that he didn't want, it was to hurt me.
I previously had ...
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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 would have ...
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votes
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answer
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Conditional sentence without conditional conjunctions, is that possible?
Sometimes I hear sentences that sound conditional to me, just because of the (unassertive) ordering of the words. I don't know if I can come up with a proper example. Consider this:
I'd be a ...
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zero conditional and first conditional
We use the so-called zero conditional when the result of the condition is always true.
What about following situation.
Let's say that we have a poorly written application. :)
and I complain that it ...
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Using “would” with the present tense in conditional clauses
I have met such sentence in my tutorial text:
"Today my brother has announced that he is going to enter the university next year. I wondered if he had thought it over properly. He would be able to ...
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“whether” vs. “if ” [duplicate]
How can I know when should I use whether or if in a sentence? I can not see any difference between whether and if. When should I use each? For me, they are the same and I am not sure if there is a ...
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Usage of "if you would"
In a recent conversation the following sentence came up:
I would be honored if you would join me there, {name}.
A friend of mine stated that this is grammatically wrong and the correct way ...
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"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?
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"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 differences.
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Conditionals in the future
My colleague and I have a hot discussion about which is correct.
My version is:
If you don't fix the bug I will send you a patch.
and his one is:
I would send you a patch if you don't fix the ...
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"If not for you" meaning
Today I have encountered a phrase:
If not for you, I would be poor.
I would think it is like "if there were not you", is it like that?
On the other hand, how would I say the following as the ...
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Future tense usage: "When you see it ..."
I wonder why the phrase is "When you see it you will shit brix," and not "When you will see it you will shit brix."
Is the version with two will incorrect? What grammar rule says that you should not ...
user3936
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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 ...
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Past conditional statements
What is the difference between the following two statements?
If I went home for dinner, I took a glass of soft drink.
If I went home for dinner, I would take a glass of soft drink.
Are both of them ...
user17857
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Inverted conditional sentence using 'can' and 'will'
On this page in Wikipedia!, it states for first conditional sentences:
The condition can also be expressed using the modal verb should. This form can be used to make an
inverted condition ...
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Subjunctive Mood with the Type 3 Conditional or "could with the perfect infinitive" expressing ability, theoretical possibility, etc. in the past
From NBC news’s ‘Breakthrough finding’ reveals why certain Covid-19 patients die:
"Before Covid, their condition was silent," Bastard said. "Most of them hadn't gotten sick before.&...
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"If I didn't have" vs. "if I hadn't had"
Can someone please tell me if these sentences are correct? I prefer number one. Here I am trying to talk about a past condition that didn't actually happen because the person had the example sentences ...
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"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 ...
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"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 for ...
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What's the truth about the subjunctive and conditional statements, anyway?
I have generally (I would say always, but I'm not sure I always thought this) supposed that in English, uses of the subjunctive are quite limited. They include desires, judgments, etc. ("I desire that ...
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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".
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Which is the correct conditional? 'threats if they don't…' or 'threats if they didn't…'
A friend and I are having a debate about a most perplexing piece of English grammar. Now, I am a native English speaker, and he is Polish - this means that he is rather clued up on the grammatical ...
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"would love/like to" usage?
What is the difference between the sentences
"I would love/like to play cricket" and " I want to play cricket." Is there any difference in the moods?
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What type of conditional is this? "If Julie went to the party last night, she definitely saw what happened."
I really cannot understand why the sentence is correct and what type of conditional it is.
If Julie went to the party last night, she definitely saw what happened.
Other examples that confuse me:
If ...
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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 ...
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Should “If I ever had a philosophy” be in the past perfect?
Excerpted from The Hills of Triumph:
If I ever had a philosophy with which to govern my social life, even long after learning that social is often at the detriment of personal, it would have been ...
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