36
votes
Why is, "If I don't use the microphone, nobody will hear me," not considered a double negative
In most forms of standard English, negatives don't agree with each other, each negative negates something separately.
So:
"If I use the microphone, somebody will hear me" can mean that ...
- 4,434
18
votes
Why is, "If I don't use the microphone, nobody will hear me," not considered a double negative
The statement that one should not use a double negative is a caution against a particular dialect form well-known to native English speakers. It is something primary school teachers say to native ...
- 2,840
6
votes
When you do your homework (tomorrow morning), you can listen to some music
I find your sentence 1 completely normal and unexceptional. As James points out, there is an ambiguity; and Gotube suggests you another meaning.
But until I read their answers, I never even thought of ...
- 73.7k
5
votes
Accepted
Is using "could" in an "if" clause, like "If you could..." grammatical?
Could can either have a past meaning (=was able to) or a conditional meaning (=would be able to). For example, in the sentence "When I was younger I could run five miles", "could" ...
- 23k
5
votes
Accepted
Prove that he didn’t/hadn’t
Which tense to use here is a style choice.
The two versions technically have different meanings, but the difference is so trivial that it doesn't affect what someone would understand.
If he had sued, ...
- 48.8k
5
votes
When you do your homework (tomorrow morning), you can listen to some music
It's odd/bad English. Presumably the intent is either:
While you are doing your homework, you can (=may) listen to music.
or
When you've done your homework, you can listen to music.
And the aspect ...
- 202k
4
votes
Is this a conditional sentence?
The premise is that Abby "practised so much as a child" That is in the past, as is shown by "child" so "if she hadn't" is used. If it was a premise about the present, "If she wasn't" would be used ...
- 40.9k
4
votes
Accepted
What type of conditionals does McGonagall use?
The concept of numbered or distinct types of conditional sentences is not one most native speakers learn, and in my view it is not very useful.
Here the conditional is unreal in the sense that the ...
- 40.9k
4
votes
Accepted
Is "If it was, then I did" a real English conditional?
It is a perfectly good English conditional, and as far as I know it works in AmE, BrE, AuE.
The way that conditionals actually work in English is much more complicated than is taught in ESL classes, ...
- 3,113
4
votes
Conditional sentence where both clauses are in the simple past
If John did not come to work yesterday, he was probably ill.
This isn't any of the conditionals you mention. It is not an example of one statement depending on another; it is a statement of logic ...
- 96k
4
votes
Can you use "if" with present perfect, and is it zero conditional?
Yes, according to BusinessEnglish.com, "We can use any form of present tense in English in the conditional clause," including present perfect.
If I have had my coffee, I think better.
In ...
- 10.1k
4
votes
Accepted
Which conditional rule fits the sentence?
Two things. First, present perfect is a present tense. It makes reference to events in the past, but the meaning is always about the present. In this case, "His arm has grown long indeed" ...
- 48.8k
4
votes
Accepted
When you do your homework (tomorrow morning), you can listen to some music
The meaning of this sentence is ambiguous because of the present simple.
It could mean, "You never do any homework, and when you start doing homework, you'll have permission to listen to some ...
- 48.8k
4
votes
if or after you are ready
Yet another bad exercise. To me as a native speaker, "We can go if you're ready" is perfectly idiomatic (it functions as a question "Are you ready yet? If so, we can go.")
"We ...
- 49.4k
3
votes
Accepted
What is the tense of "wasn't interrupted"
Both these sentences are well-formed grammatically, but they are not used for the same thing:
He wasn't thinking straight.FEATURES: past tense, continuous aspect
He hadn't been thinking straight....
- 8,128
3
votes
Referring to a habit int the past
The first is correct and natural, the second is not. A commenter says it is grammatical, but that is not true - it is in fact incorrect use and barely intelligible.
The reason is because it mixes ...
- 3,556
3
votes
Why does this second conditional statement use the passive voice when the clauses are swapped?
If you simply swap the clauses, you get:
It would destroy it, if a tornado hit Rex's house.
But of course we usually use pronouns such as it after the referent noun is stated (retrospective ...
- 3,005
3
votes
Accepted
In the First Conditional, what is more important, cause or time?
Both sentences are possible, but they suggest somewhat different things.
I finish my jog at 8, before the rain will start.
(Note: I've corrected "my jogging" to "my jog". Alternatively, you could ...
- 4,508
3
votes
Accepted
if condition in the past
Past verbs are often used for hypothetical conditions (what I think your teachers call "second conditional", but I've never heard that expression outside ESL teaching, so I'm not certain, and most ...
- 73.7k
3
votes
if condition in the past
This seems most natural to me:
If you knew that yesterday why didn't you tell me [then/at the time/yesterday]?
I'm trying to come up with a sentence using 'wouldn't' but they all feel terribly ...
- 2,507
3
votes
Accepted
If you paid attention, you’ll do well
It's a mess of a sentence, as you surmise.
Here are the possibilities, depending on the context:
At the start of the year, the teacher advises the pupils:
If you pay attention in class and do the ...
- 25.7k
3
votes
Why is, "If I don't use the microphone, nobody will hear me," not considered a double negative
A double negative is something of the form ¬(¬ P). The ¬ sign denotes negation.
Your statement is something of the form (¬ M) ⇒ (¬ H). The ⇒ sign denotes implication.
In classical logic, ¬(¬ P) is the ...
- 190
3
votes
Why can't we say "if will there be any novels" as a question?
Neither is correct! The main reasons for this are:
There are two questions, joined by the conjunction 'and'. You should be able to separate these questions and they would still make sense, but they ...
- 96k
3
votes
Accepted
Using "but" with modals
Option 3 is correct:
I would come, but my mum is very ill and I have to take care of her.
"Would" indicates your personal intention, so this means that you would personally choose to go, ...
- 96k
3
votes
Accepted
"If I wasn't ... " vs "if I weren't ..."
This is one of those things where there is one thing that is technically correct, but there is a different thing that everyone actually says.
Those are both conditionals (the second one being past ...
- 4,177
3
votes
Conditional sentence where both clauses are in the simple past
The "First, second, third conditionals" are lies told to children. They help to give some structure to learning the conditional structures in English, but don't give every possible ...
- 202k
3
votes
Accepted
Omitting "if" at the middle of a sentence
Yes, those make sense. They're called inverted conditionals.
Alternate constructions for hypothetical "if" clauses that omit "if" and employ either the subjunctive for pluperfect ...
- 2,383
3
votes
Accepted
If he were to cancel the deal tomorrow, I would be devastated
Yes, all four mean the same thing, except that in 1 & 2 it could be one or more people canceling the deal. They all sound natural to me as a native English speaker.
- 171
3
votes
If clause in a conditional sentence: didn't have vs hadn't
[1] I WOULD COME if I DIDN'T HAVE other plans.
[2] I would come if I HADN'T other plans.
[1] and [2] are both grammatically OK and have the same meaning, though [1] is far more likely.
The difference ...
- 15.8k
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