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Would it be okay if I didn't come to your show next week?

Would it be okay if I don't come to your show next week?

Now, as per the rule of the second conditional, if + Simple Past, + would + base verb, would the first not be more grammatically accurate than the second one, and it even follows the being in harmony of tenses?

Is there a difference in the meaning between the two?

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    I attempted to answer, but I had a couple issues midway through, and I don't know how to resolve them except via "that's just how it is", so I'll see if anyone else comes up with a better answer.
    – modulusshift
    Commented Dec 10, 2015 at 9:37
  • 2
    Interesting question! I've run a search in the COCA corpus, and there are 11 constructions of the type "Would it be ok if + Simple Past verb" and only one construction with a Simple Present verb: " Would it be OK if I check your tub for a second?" There are 9 constructions for "Would it be okay + Simple Past" and only one with Simple Present: "Would it be okay if I start?"
    – CowperKettle
    Commented Dec 10, 2015 at 9:39
  • should i delete this question,and post it again? Maybe that way you'll be able to answer my question without problems @modulusshift
    – lekon chekon
    Commented Dec 10, 2015 at 9:43
  • sure. ....... :)
    – lekon chekon
    Commented Dec 10, 2015 at 9:46
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    I don't mean your question is wrong, I just mean that it's difficult enough that I don't want my instincts to lead you wrong, so I'll let the actual scholars here bring the big guns.
    – modulusshift
    Commented Dec 10, 2015 at 9:48

2 Answers 2

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It is an interesting question.
Both forms are acceptable and understandable:

Would it be okay, if I didn't come to your show next week?
Would it be okay, if I don't come to your show next week?

However, the first sounds better, to me, since it's seeking permission.
The answers to the questions are (expanded for clarity):

It's okay if you did not come.
It's okay if you do not come.

Whereas the second sounds better as the answer.

The interesting opposite would be:

It would be okay if you did come

not

It would be okay if you do come.

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Both the sentences are correct grammatically.

The first sentence is a conditional 2 sentence, whereas the second is not. You can use "would" in the main clause and if-clause in the present when you make a polite or indirect request.

Would you mind if I open a window? (Longman)

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