84
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Accepted
When to use "If I was" vs. "If I were"?
SYNOPSIS: Sometimes it must be “if I was”, but at other times it can be “if I were” — and for some speakers in those cases, perhaps even must be “if I were” in their idiolect.
Sentences with the ...
- 137k
67
votes
Accepted
Can "would" be used twice in an English conditional sentence and still be grammatical?
Use of deontic would in the protasis and epistemic would in the apodosis:
“If you would all PLEASE take your seats, we would actually be able to get started on time for once.”
Non-native speakers ...
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46
votes
Can "would" be used twice in an English conditional sentence and still be grammatical?
I can think of five hundred ways to destroy him: how I would would not be a problem.
Disclaimer: Not a native speaker.
- 580
34
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Can "would" be used twice in an English conditional sentence and still be grammatical?
"Would you ever use would twice in a sentence?"
"I would, but would you?"
The first is mentioned but you could count it as a use. In the second case you could omit the but and have the two words ...
- 21.9k
24
votes
Accepted
You won't catch the train if you don't/won't leave in time
As implied in the comments, the specific meaning of the two are slightly different (albeit both grammatically correct). It helps to break down the contractions.
You will not catch the train if you ...
- 421
17
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Can "would" be used twice in an English conditional sentence and still be grammatical?
George and Ira Gershwin have a great example for you:
He'll build a little home
That's meant for two,
From which I'll never roam,
Who would, would you?
And so all else above
I'm dreaming of the man I ...
- 28.2k
10
votes
Accepted
"I wonder how my life would have been different had she lived"
There is no IF because she is using a different grammatical form, where you use "Had [subject] [past tense]" to indicate a past alternative that would have led to a different present. Like, "Had I ...
- 2,141
10
votes
If John had taken it, he would have let me know
In the context of the question posed by A, both 1 and 3 are grammatically correct, but 3 scans better, it has a nice rhythm, whereas A is a little bit abrupt and staccato. If either 1 or 3 are ...
- 161
10
votes
Accepted
Omission of if in a conditional phrase
Yes, were there not is a an inverted conditional and means if there were not ("were" is subjunctive):
Although conditional clauses are often called if-clauses, they don’t always include the ...
- 36.9k
10
votes
Accepted
Is "did" used conditionally, regionally or otherwise? e.g. "Did you want..." instead of "Would you want..."
This use of the past is called "attitudinal past" in A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language (Quirk et al.); the present can be used but the past introduces an element of politeness.
...
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9
votes
Accepted
Usage of "if you would"
Your friend is misremembering technically correct grammar
in the sense that many foreign ESL tests will require students to learn that English has three forms of conditional phrases:
First ...
- 10.3k
9
votes
'If she would have studied hard"
Many people (Americans, at least), use this construction (would have + Past Participle),
instead of past perfect (had + Past Participle), and with the same meaning.
If she would have studied harder, ...
- 109k
9
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"If there is a god please help me"
If you say "if there were a God", you are revealing that you do not believe there is a God. Also unreal conditional cannot be combined with an imperative mood verb, which
makes direct ...
- 36.9k
8
votes
If I were you vs. If I had been you
Technically, the phrase "If I were you" is not referring to the past. It's referring to a hypothetical situation in the present or the future (subjunctive). So, again, technically, it should be:
...
- 1,514
8
votes
Can "would" be used twice in an English conditional sentence and still be grammatical?
You can use "would" twice in a sentence with no intervening words!
Example:
One does not ask, as Americans would: “Would you like something to drink?,” because social etiquette would require the ...
- 578
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Even if / Even though
The difference is whether the antecedent is factual (real) or hypothetical.
Even if places the antecedent (we couldn’t manage without their help) in an irrealis mood: perhaps you can manage without ...
- 39k
8
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Using two if-part in a sentence
The first if marks a closed interrogative (yes/no) subordinate clause, the equivalent interrogative main clause would be:
Would she have smoked more of it if she had known it was to be her
last?
It ...
- 11.1k
7
votes
Usage of "if you would"
The use of would in if-clauses is possible in polite and/or formal requests:
It would be nice if you would help me in the kitchen. (Are you willing to help me in the kitchen?)
(www.englisch-...
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7
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Do people in Britain use this structure nowdays? Or is it considered archaic there?
Yes, that is a normal construction to me.
It is effectively the past of If I were a boy.
If I were a boy, I would roam... is a counterfactual in the present. If I had been a boy, I would have roamed......
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7
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Accepted
If John had taken it, he would have let me know
Both 1 and 3 are grammatically correct, but I would take them to describe subtly different things.
If John took it, he would have let me know.
This is a statement of expectation. To put it into a ...
- 194
6
votes
"I wonder how my life would have been different had she lived"
Grammar
I wonder how my life would have been different had she lived.
In English, conditional adjuncts look like interrogative clauses. We can use if-clauses, which look like subordinate closed ...
- 48.7k
6
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Can "would" be used twice in an English conditional sentence and still be grammatical?
I realize the question is about conditionals. However, you can have "would" directly after "would" if you have a noun phrase ending with "would" that serves as the subject of your sentence, e.g.:
He ...
- 61
6
votes
Which is the correct conditional? 'threats if they don't…' or 'threats if they didn't…'
First, Second, Third, or Nth Conditional are terms that have been made up by certain teachers of English as a Foreign Language, most of whom are not native speakers of English. They are used only by ...
- 109k
6
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Accepted
If X or [if] Y - Should I extend conditional after "or"?
The first statement you suggested is fine, but as you noted, it isn't the shortest nor smoothest sentence.
Given that there are only two problems and only one suggested action, there is not a lot of ...
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votes
I have found 3 conditionals which have the word 'will' in the if clause! Are they correct?
They are not wrong.
Will here has its older meaning of be willing to. It is actually a polite invitation: something like "Are you willing to sign this? If you do, then ... "
The Oxford example 3) ...
- 77.8k
6
votes
Accepted
Why is "until" incorrect?
Until means
up to the point in time or the event mentioned
[Oxford Languages]
Unless means
except on the condition that
[MW]
To simplify, until refers to an actual point in time, even if we don't ...
- 10.9k
5
votes
Usage of 'if' and 'if not' to mean 'and perhaps even/also'
A co-worker just encountered this same issue with these sentences:
"I feel good if not very mobile."
The interpretation really depends on which word the negation is attached to. I assumed [if] [not ...
- 51
5
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What is the etymology of WERE in the Second Conditional?
It's actually 'native', a survival from the oldest recorded form of English. The Old English past subjunctive form was wære for all persons in the singular and wæren for all persons in the plural.
...
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5
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The meaning of "if any"
The cited sentence
To defray the publication cost, authors are requested to arrange print charges of their accepted papers at the rate of US$ 40 per page from their institutions/research grants, if ...
- 169k
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