The trip, should it go ahead, would mark Xi's first visit to the North Korean capital since he came to power in 2012.
What is grammar about the "should" go first non-question sentence?
-
2"Should it go ahead", is a conditional clause, no different to "if it goes ahead", except that it has subject-auxiliary inversion. The element "the trip would mark Xi's first visit to the North Korean capital since he came to power in 2012" gives the outcome of the condition being met.– BillJCommented May 3, 2018 at 10:43
-
4Possible duplicate of just in case VS. should Also what is the meaning of “Should we not be able to assist you at present”? and probably others.– FumbleFingersCommented May 3, 2018 at 12:25
Add a comment
|
1 Answer
In this situation, the Should (3) is being used as:
formal (expressing the conditional mood): referring to a possible event or situation.
if you should change your mind, I'll be at the hotel
It can be re-written using the alternatives in the case that or in the situation where, which would make the sentence:
The trip, in the case that it goes ahead (because we don't know that it will), would mark...
The meaning of the phrase should is to give a condition on the next part of the sentence. It says that the remaining part of the sentence is only applicable if the condition is true.
In other words, the trip will only mark Xi's first visit - if it actually goes ahead (i.e. the trip actually happens). By including the condition explicitly (using should), it makes it clear that this isn't certain - there is a chance it might not happen.