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I don't understand how ask a question when using a conditional sentence.

My options for 4 conditional type are the following:

  1. Are Chinese people love tradition if China is not communist country?
  2. Will Chinese people love tradition if China is not communist country?
  3. Would Chinese people love tradition if China were not communist country?
  4. Would have Chinese people loved tradition if China had been not communist country?

Please correct me.

I changed 3 sentences to "Would China communist country if Chinese people were not love tradition."

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  • 2
    #3 is the sentence you are looking for.
    – J.R. ♦
    Commented Jul 31, 2013 at 21:05
  • 1
    #3 is the correct one. None of the others make any sense, including the fifth one that you have written.
    – Daniel
    Commented Jul 31, 2013 at 21:30
  • Are you asking about what are sometimes called the "First, Second, Third Conditionals" (and in some schemes the "Zero Conditional")?
    – StoneyB on hiatus
    Commented Jul 31, 2013 at 22:19

2 Answers 2

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Your third sentence is almost correct, you're just missing an a:

Would Chinese people love tradition if China were not a communist country?

The above is the correct sentence. I'm not sure what you mean by "I changed three sentences"; only #3 above is close to correct when speaking of the people who currently live in China. If you are also trying to present a past or future conditional, you could use either of these sentences:

Would Chinese people have loved tradition if China had not been a communist country?

This only makes sense if you are speaking from a future point where China is no longer a communist country. For example, now that we live in a future where the US and UK are separate countries, we can present a past conditional like:

If King George hadn't raised taxes, would the Revolutionary War have started?

You can also present a future conditional, speculating on what would happen if China stops being a communist country in the future:

Would Chinese people still love tradition if China were no longer a communist country?

Note that the common factor in all these conditionals is that they use would.

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Adding a comma may help:

Would Chinese people love tradition, if China were not communist country?

While this may not be appropriate, I am used to hearing a pause in most native speakers before the "if" that should be represented in punctuation somehow I'd think.

I'd probably prefer

If China were not communist country, would Chinese people love tradition?

Though as a programmer, I am used to starting with an if rather than ending with them.

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    Actually the comma is not appropriate in the first sentence. In your second sentence with the flipped clauses it is fine though :) Also note that the OP accidentally left out the word a before communist country; it seems you've copied that typo into your answer.
    – WendiKidd
    Commented Jul 31, 2013 at 22:01
  • Oh, I didn't mean to make you delete this! I was just trying to help you improve it. I'm sorry.
    – WendiKidd
    Commented Jul 31, 2013 at 22:06

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