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Imagine that I am speaking to a friend who is meeting the president tomorrow. Would it be correct if I said to him:

If I met the president tomorrow, I wouldn't sleep this night.

Should I say "If I met the president tomorrow..." or "If I would meet the president tomorrow..."?

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2 Answers 2

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"Met" is past tense. But "tomorrow" means it's in the future. So no, that doesn't make sense. You should use future tense if it's tomorrow. As it's a conditional, then you'd use a future conditional. "If I was going to meet the president tomorrow, I wouldn't sleep tonight."

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  • Hi! I upvoted your answer! Is English your mother language?
    – Marios Athanasiou
    Commented Aug 28, 2023 at 10:56
  • @MariosAthanasiou Yes.
    – Jay
    Commented Aug 28, 2023 at 19:48
  • Hi! I am very impressed with your answer! Well done!
    – Marios Athanasiou
    Commented Aug 29, 2023 at 5:25
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This is the second conditional and refers to imaginary events in the future that have a low probability of occurring.

A better, more idiomatic, form of your sentence = If I were to meet the president tomorrow, I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.

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  • Is it grammatically correct to say "if I would meet her tomorrow...", "If I met her tomorrow...", "If I was meeting her tomorrow..."?
    – Vova
    Commented Jun 13, 2020 at 22:06
  • If I met her tomorrow = correct......................as for the others, they are incorrect ...............If I were to meet her tomorrow; if I were meeting her tomorrow.
    – Bruce Murray
    Commented Jun 13, 2020 at 22:12
  • "If I were to meet..." is incorrect? But earlier you wrote it was a better and more idiomatic form. I don't understand you.
    – Vova
    Commented Jun 13, 2020 at 22:22
  • No. I put my corrections in place of your mistakes. So,.If I were to meet her tomorrow.................and.............. if I were meeting her tomorrow................. are both correct
    – Bruce Murray
    Commented Jun 13, 2020 at 22:26
  • Ok, I got it. And "If I met her tomorrow..." is also grammatically correct, isn't it?
    – Vova
    Commented Jun 13, 2020 at 22:32

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