1

  1. If she (let's call this person X) had said anything to you (let's call this person Y) about her coming over to your place tonight, I would probably drop by your place as well.

  2. If she said anything to you about her coming over to your place tonight, I would probably drop by as well.

Which of these sentences convey, X hasn't said anything to Y about X's coming over to Y's place tonight, which is why I probably won't drop by Y's place., the best.

  • I haven't anything productive this week, I think that's why I'm depressed.

  • If I had done something productive this week, I wouldn't so depressed.

Do the two sentences convey the same information, that he hasn't done anything productive this week, and that he's depressed?

Improve this question
0

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2

If you had asked politely ...

I would probably give you a cookie.

I would probably have given you a cookie.

You did not ask politely, or we're just talking about a past hypothetical.

If you asked politely ...

I might have given you a cookie.

I might give you a cookie.

You may or may not have asked. Requires context to know whether the speaker is talking about what has happened or about what might happen.

Improve this answer
2
  • +1 from me What about: "If Alice had said anything about her coming over to your place tonight, I would have probably dropped by your place as well* " Would that also work?
    – Mari-Lou A
    Oct 15, 2016 at 7:26
  • @Mari-Lou A: Your sentence could be understood in both ways as well. It is either a statement by the speaker implying that Alice did not say anything, or a hypothetical about what the speaker is likely to have done if the condition in the if-clause were true. The context of the conversation in which the statement is made tells us the speaker's intended meaning, lthough this kind of if-statement can be used to avoid making an unconditional statement. "Were you at the bank on the afternoon of the robbery? --If the shop's proceeds had been deposited by my business partner, I would not ...
    – TimR
    Oct 15, 2016 at 11:17

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .