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Traditional grammar teaches that "would V" is paired with a superficial past tense in conditional sentences of type (b). But nothing is said about sentences like (a), where modal "would" is paired with a present tense verb in the if-clause. If both sentences are okay, what does (a) mean, and how does it differ from (b)?

a. I think the balloon would burst if you continue to fill it with air.

b. I think the balloon would burst if you continued to fill it with air.

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  • Why do you think "would" is superficially past tense? Do you mean because it refers to the present time, in contrast to places where "would" refers to the past time?
    – gotube ♦
    Nov 13, 2022 at 5:54
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    @gotube Yes, it is specifically used in counterfactual sentences.
    – Apollyon
    Nov 13, 2022 at 5:56

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Sentence a. is not grammatical. Conditional expressions include a condition and a result, and the two parts must either be both real or both unreal (technically, realis or irrealis, what you call "counterfactual" in the comments), not a mix of the two.

With "would burst" in the past form, the result is unreal. But with "continue to fill it with air" in present form, the condition is "real". A real condition cannot lead to an unreal result.

You can mix almost any two tenses to create your own conditional expression, but it's basically impossible to mix real and unreal and end up with something grammatical.

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  • Can't the "would" in sentence (a) be thought of as a deductive usage, as in "Who's ringing the doorbell? It'd be John"?
    – Apollyon
    Nov 13, 2022 at 6:21
  • @Apollyon No. There's no deduction here, just observation and prediction. The closest I can get is something like, "I'd think the balloon will burst", meaning, "If you asked me, I would say the balloon will burst".
    – gotube ♦
    Nov 13, 2022 at 20:11
  • I've found this sentence on the Free Dictionary website: We would also omit the comma if another parenthetical element (such as an appositive or absolute phrase) using em dashes appears directly after the country or state...
    – Apollyon
    Nov 19, 2022 at 9:19
  • Do you fiind it ungrammatical too?
    – Apollyon
    Nov 19, 2022 at 9:19
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    @RADS It's incorrect, and in a language assessment test, it would be marked wrong. A native speaker might say it that way in unprepared speech, but in writing or in prepared speech they'd correct it. If you asked that speaker whether they meant the sentence to be real or unreal, they wouldn't be able to answer. A conditional simply cannot meaningfully be both real and unreal.
    – gotube ♦
    Jan 24 at 17:36

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