I read this line in the description of a film on TV:
Stu answers a call in a booth and is told that if he hangs up, he's dead.
I think it should be "would be dead". Please explain the bold part meaning.
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Sign up to join this communityI read this line in the description of a film on TV:
Stu answers a call in a booth and is told that if he hangs up, he's dead.
I think it should be "would be dead". Please explain the bold part meaning.
...[he] is told that if he hangs up, he will be dead.
This sentence is reported speech: the speaker might actually have said
"Hang up and you're dead".
In baseball, if you fail to hit the ball three times, you are out: this is stated as
three strikes is an event: you're out is a consequence of that event.
Comparing that with what was probably said to Stu, hang up is an event: you're dead is a consequence of that event.
The expression "you're dead" in this context is a death threat. The person is telling Stu that if he hangs up the phone, somebody will kill him.
The correct sentence should be:
Stu answers a call in a booth and is told that if he hangs up, he will be dead.
That is first conditional.