Questions tagged [conditional-constructions]
For questions about constructions which associate a hypothetical or imagined 'condition' with a 'consequence' which is inferred to be true if the 'condition' is true OR predicted to occur if the 'condition' occurs. "If John arrives tonight we will have a party."
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Can the following sentence (without if) be regarded as a conditional type 2 sentence?
I was wondering if the following question can be regarded a conditional sentence of the 2nd type:
To hear some men talk, you'd think that women belonged to a different
species!
In fact the sentence ...
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Past perfect usage in hypothetical statement
On Quora, I've run into such a sentence where the author describes a hypothetical situation if astronauts wore unsuitable space suits on the Moon:
At about this time, they’d realize that the sides ...
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Proper way to build interogative conditionals
Suppose we have this sentence:
If I hadn't met her two years ago we wouln't be married today. (I wonder if marrying is possible?)
What's the best way to ask that?
Would you be married today hadn't ...
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Can the "for" starts a sentence and becomes the integral sentence?
There is a sentence in the the economist, but it seems not correct:
For there are worse things for a polity than to be led by a cheerful, pragmatic and dedicated leader.
"For" guides a ...
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"If…, he can /will be able to kill the dictator" What is the difference in meaning? [duplicate]
What’s the difference?
“He’s the bravest person I’ve ever seen.
If you give him a knife, he can kill the dictator.
If you give him a knife, he’ll be able to kill the dictator”
What’s the difference ...
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Is "would + present tense" bad grammar?
Is using "would + present tense" bad grammar?
I said "Would it be alright if I go with you?" to a classmate and she replied with "Sure, it would be OK if you came with me." which threw me off a bit.
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Can you reword conditional setence in subjunctive and still retain the same meaning?
For example
If he were alive today, he would've supported the independence movement.
Here the speaker is talking about somebody who has passed away in a present interview. Wouldn't it be more ...
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Reported speech sentence
The sentence goes: If you do not do it by Friday, you will be punished.
What is the reported speech of the above sentence please? Is it:
She said if I did not do it by Friday I would be punished
She ...
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If + simple tense, would + bare infinitive (First conditional with would?)
In a reply to the comment below in this topic: difference between won't and wouldn't
If you ask me nicely, I will/would come with you. why here both will
and would are correct?
The answer was:
...
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Can someone explain this conditional? (Past simple + past perfect)
I've just come across one conditional that I don't quite understand.
If what she said was true, Marilyn had almost certainly left town last night.
I understand that the first part of the sentence is ...
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…a point of view to whom would have refused it if…
Introducing a point of view to whom would have refused it if humor was not present.
Is this sentence grammatically complete?
I feel like something is missing in between the ‘whom’ and ‘would’ to ...
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Correcting conditional sentences
If we had the confidence he did not commit the crime we would have said so.
I read this sentence somewhere, shouldn't it be:
If we had had the confidence he had not commited the crime we would
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Conditional Sentence(simple present mode or future tense)
Would you please tell me if I use "If you will be selected*" instead of "If you are selected", does it make sense? Would please tell me the differences between these two tenses?
Thank you for your ...
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Is the clause "I ever have" in the sentence "the best gift I ever have" grammatically correct?
I am hesitant whether the sentence "the best gift that I ever have", is appropriate for expressing that the gift that will be given to me in the future (might happen or might not) will be ...
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tense of the main clause with "if only"
Which tense should be used in the main clause of the following?
We tend / would tend to view the earth as capable of regulating itself, if only humans would stop interfering with it.
I'd ...
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Is "could teach" the second conditional? "If Jack could teach any type of student, he would choose business students."
If Jack could teach any type of student, he would choose business students.
I have been told that this is the second conditional. However, I am confused as the form for the second conditional is If + ...
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"I would say" VS "I would have said" (in the context of giving one's opinion about something) [duplicate]
On TV, a woman who has spent years to make herself look like a Barbie doll is telling about her story, how and why she has been doing it. It turns out that she actually had painful days years ago, ...
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Difference between "the number of people you would have thought" OR "the number of people you would think"?
This from the BBC website Lost wallet found 5 years on
It is about a story in which somebody lost his wallet 5 years ago after he watched a game in a rugby stadium, and it was found 5 years later. ...
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"had + past participle " VS "could have + past participle " in conditional sentence
The following sentence is collected from cricinfo.com:
They were under a little bit of pressure then. If we could have carried on, we could have set them 220 or even more than that. So to get out ...
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"Were he able to go, he would have gone" is this correct?
I would like to know whether the sentence "Were he able to go, he would have gone" is correct in English.
Or shall I always say " If he were able to go, he would have done so"?
I ...
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Is this an example of first conditional?
Is this an example of first conditional?
Can we use your father's vacation house if he's not staying there?
If not so, can someone please explain about this example?
Thanks.
The question was in an ...
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Could have been
I am intrigued by something I have tried to translate from German to English.
I intend to say that I had to write an exam (a translation) once which I couldn´t really prepare for other than trying to ...
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"it would be" in reference to something that someone else did or does
I find conditionals quite difficult to understand in English. That's why sometimes, here or elsewhere, I quote conditional sentences written by native speakers and ask questions about them to ...
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Mix conditional sentences type 1 and 2
Context: This is a conversation between me and my American friend:
A: We had a great workshop yesterday. Will you join us for next Sunday
at 2pm?
Me: I will try
A: If you can help me understand the ...
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Is this passive verb construction & condition wrong?
Sentence itself: [Enemy] uses that spell when was attacked by any Ice spell.
I am wondering, is that construction sounds "good" in English, or native speaker would rather use different tense/aspect ...
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What tense to use when a subjunctive mood sentence has nested clauses
Consider the following sentence:
If I knew what the problem ___, I would be able to help you better.
Should the verb be "is" or "was"?
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"Assuming we are to..." vs "Assuming we were to"
I've been doing some exercises lately when one thing struck me:
Miss Baiocci would, I am sure, be a real asset to your organisation, knowing as she does a great deal about the way a company such as ...
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What type of conditional clause is this?
https://www.scribbr.co.uk/verb/conditional-sentence/
If you think we are returning to those policies, then that is not going to happen.
Using the resource above, I cannot compare my example:
then that ...
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They would/will have been married forty years come this June
They would have been married forty years come this June.
'would have pp' means past,but 'come this June' implies future.
What's the meaning of the example sentence and what about 'will' insteand of '...
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Difference between subjunctive and conditional
I am a Spanish speaker. Recently I found the following sentence in linguee.com:
I had never been married and I was sure that I would never find anyone who would love and accept me, especially...
I ...
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"If I knew what you want/wanted to eat tonight"
Context:
I am talking to my friends, trying to find out what she wants to eat tonight.
"What do you want to eat tonight?"
"You know what I want to eat."
"If I knew what you wanted to eat, I ...
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Conditionals: "if after all," "if after life," and "as if I'm/I was/I were"
Does the use of "if after" change nothing with the rules of if-conditionals?
Are these sentences okay?
If after all we'll do will make no effect, then why are we still trying?
If after all ...
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Manage or will manage
In exam (Egyptian GSEC English exam)
If you are a well-organized person, you (manage/will manage)
This question was in my exam, I already answered it "will manage", I want to know the ...
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Why can't I use a past perfect tense in this condition part?
the sentence is:
If you didn't want to buy that shirt you shouldn't have bought it ('didn't' - it's a past simple not a second conditional, watch the video by the link above)
Question:
When can I ...
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If you said you ate on top of the tower, it seems as though [closed]
https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/on-top-of-vs-on-the-top-of.2180289/
In post #3, in the above thread, they say:
If you said you ate on top of the tower, it seems as though you sat literally on ...
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Would with if clause?
I would take this medicine if it would cure my illness .
I would take this medicine if it cured my illness.
I think both are correct but do they have the same meaning ? I think the most idiomatic is ...
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Conditional sentences and usages
If I were born in 1984 my name would have been thamilay.
If I were born in 1984 my name would be thamilay now.
Which sentence is wrong.
Correct me!
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Should it be "....could marry..." or "....could have married...? --- If you didn't like me when you met me, how the hell could you marry me?
Imagine a husband says to his wife -after years of marriage- that he didn't like her all along ever since when they first met. So, the wife gets shocked and wants to ask how he married her. So, the ...
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The difference between zero conditional and first conditional
Here I have an explanation on the difference between zero conditional and second conditional:
I can't grasp the difference between to examples above:
This one is given as the example of zero ...
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"you wouldn't want to invite someone that you knew wouldn't want to come."
If you were having a party, you wouldn't want to invite someone that you knew wouldn't want to come.
Is this sentence 'that you knew wouldn't want to come.' also hypothetical OR does it refer to the ...
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Is "that would be correct" always followed by an if statement?
I have always thought when people use the phrase "That would be correct", it is always followed by some "if" statement; for example,
Jane: "Is it correct to say that people are allowed to turn ...
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CNN: "Had he lived, he would be 95 years old this year." | Why is it "....would be...." instead of "....would have been..."?
"Had he lived, Martin Luther King Jr. would be 95 years old this year." CNN-Martin's question remains unaswered
This sentence seems to start with Conditional Type 3 structure, but it does ...
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I would listen to your mother
Consider the following, please:
A: Exams are soon, so my mother didn't allow me to go to my friend's birthday party yesterday. But I didn't listen to her and went to the party. Was it wrong of me to ...
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Past tense of "Would like to"
When someone wants to ask politely for something, they use “would like to” structure. For example:
“I would like to try on this jacket, please.”
I wonder if this structure has past tense. I know ...
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Are these sentences conditionals?
After going through all the conditionals (real and unreal and mixed unreal), I doubt these two types of sentences. Are they conditional sentences?
He would have been more careful about it if he knew ...
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Should with 2nd and 3rd conditionals
Here is a link which I came across on this site.
Should in conditional sentences
It prohibits the usage of 'should' with type 2 and type 3. There are multiple sources which concur with this rule and ...
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How to properly express conditional causal relationship
Is this correct and normal way to express causation relationship?:
{Something} would not be required, had {something_other} been done properly.
Or maybe this form is more natural?:
If {...
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If he <did say> such a thing (indicative past or subjunctive past?)
If he did say (not said) such a thing, she would break up
with him.
Question: Is did say in the indicative past tense or in the subjunctive past tense?
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Time frame in a second conditional clause
In type 1 conditional sentences, the time is the present or future and the situation is real in both clauses.
In type 3 conditionals, the time is the past in both clauses.
In Type 2 conditionals, the ...
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Usage of Will/Would with the conditional clause
Occasionally, we have the occurrence of will/would in the condition clauses. In the below examples, 'will' and 'would' are supposed to have the meaning of 'willing to" or 'want to.'
Example 1. If ...
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