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The following sentence is from a text in which someone is complaining about his brother who has not been interested in his elderly mother. (Here is the link: https://www.insider.com/why-i-cut-contact-with-brother-sibling-estrangement-2020-5)

"I wouldn't be surprised if the next and final time I see my brother is at my mother's funeral."

One side of the sentence is would, and the other side of the sentence is present, which do not seem to fall in any of the conditionals, although it seems similar to Type 2. Thinking about the conditional Type 2, if one part of the sentence is structured with would, the other part should be in (simple past), but this sentence is not structured that way either.

So, what structure is it?

Is it really correct, or should it have been structure like this: "I wouldn't be surprised if the next and final time I see my brother WAS at my mother's funeral."

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2 Answers 2

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"I wouldn't be surprised if..." is an idiomatic expression that means, "I strongly believe that ... is going to happen". It doesn't follow the normal rules of grammar.

It has the structure of an unreal (technically, "irrealis", but I'm guessing you know what I mean) conditional, but the meaning of a real ("realis") conditional. It's grammatically correct to use either real or unreal grammar after it, though real grammar is only used in speaking and informal situations.

In particular with this sentence, since it's about the real future, it's awkward to have simple past verbs. But this version is also correct:

I wouldn't be surprised if the next and final time I saw my brother were at my mother's funeral

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    My ear wants to pair irrealis if-were with then-would as a sort of "If X were so, then Y would happen" sort of sentence: "If the next time I saw him were at my mother's funeral, this wouldn't surprise me in the slightest." But of course the OP's quoted sentence is just fine because English doesn't have numbered conditionals. :)
    – tchrist
    Commented Jul 10, 2022 at 15:04
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    @tchrist Numbering conditionals is a useful tool (like learning musical notation) to which more forms can be added. Otherwise, starting points are fuzzy.//I wouldn't be surprised if is not an idiomatic expression. Because you can say: I am surprised that, etc, etc.
    – Lambie
    Commented Jul 10, 2022 at 15:18
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The verb surprise is not an idiomatic expression. The sentences below can all be expressed with: be surprised/was surprised

It surprises me that he is a rich man. [I am surprised that etc.]

It surprises me that he was a rich man. [is no longer rich] It doesn't surprise me that he is a rich man. [ongoing condition]

It surprised me that he is a rich man. [ongoing condition of richness]

It surprised me that he was a rich man. [at the time]

Conditional surprise: It wouldn't surprise me if he were a rich man. But I don't know if he is rich. [I wouldn't be surprised if he were a rich man. Same meaning]

Conditional surprise but not about the richness: It wouldn't surprise me if he is a rich man. [is a rich man is an ongoing condition]

"I wouldn't be surprised if the next and final time I see my brother was at my mother's funeral." This is an unreal conditional, as the mother is still alive.

"I wouldn't be surprised if the next and final time I see my brother is at my mother's funeral." The mother's condition here is that at some point she will have a funeral. So, it expresses a different thought than putting it in the conditional.

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    Related ELU questions: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. The last link covers uses "In expressions of surprise or its absence, approval or disapproval, of some present or past fact," as in the rather formal-sounding I was surprised that he should say such a thing!
    – tchrist
    Commented Jul 10, 2022 at 16:13
  • @tchrist Not all expressions of surprise include the verbs: to surprise and to be surprised. Why don't you state the fact that there is no idiom here under the other answer?
    – Lambie
    Commented Jul 10, 2022 at 16:27
  • “I was surprised that he should say such a thing.” is not at all the usage here. Your entry was about modals.
    – Lambie
    Commented Jul 10, 2022 at 16:34
  • Because for something to be idiomatic means only that it's natural to a native speaker; that is, it's grammatical. It does not mean that it's an idiom with a meaning that is not deducible from its words alone. The other answer therefore simply says that it is grammatical, not that it has some hidden meaning. Nobody mentioned an idiom.
    – tchrist
    Commented Jul 10, 2022 at 16:36
  • "I wouldn't be surprised if..." is an idiomatic expression". Something may be expressed idiomatically but it is not an idiom aka idiomatic expression.
    – Lambie
    Commented Jul 10, 2022 at 16:39

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