0
Anonymous Posted 10 years ago
Grammar

A grammar question

I want to know, is the next construction is right:
She would only kiss him if he won.
I can't imagine sequence of tenses construction like that, I mean with if.
On my opinion only construction below is right:
She would only kiss him if he would win the bet.
But I may be wrong, answer me, please
  

Top answer

Anonymous I want to know, is the next construction is right: She would only kiss him if he won. It is right. Anonymous I can't imagine sequence of tenses construction like that, I mean with if.

  • Anonymous I want to know, is the next construction is right: She would only kiss him if he won.
  • It is right.
  • Anonymous I can't imagine sequence of tenses construction like that, I mean with if.
  • It is a common grammatical pattern in English.
  • Anonymous On In my opinion only construction below is right: She would only kiss him if he would win the bet.
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

6 Answers
0
AnonymousI want to know, is the next construction is right: She would only kiss him if he won.
It is right.
AnonymousI can't imagine sequence of tenses construction like that, I mean with if.
It is a common grammatical pattern in English.
AnonymousOn In m
0
Only the word "if" is used with the Past Unreal Conditional because you are discussing imaginary situations, and I think Past Perfect is more suitable here - She would have only kissed him if he had won the bet.
But it's not about Perfect tenses. If I slightly change original sentence like that;
She said, she would only kiss him if he won the bet. - there we see that after "i
0
Anonymousdiscussing imaginary situations
In unreal conditionals, there is this strange use of tenses in English:

Non-past (present or future) imagined situations use the past tense after "if". After "if" the simple past tense does not indicate past time. It indicates present or future time.
Past imagined situations use the past perfect tense aft
0
Thank You very much. It definitely seems unreal to me, I have to get used to this.
0
CalifJimfter "if" the simple past tense does not indicate past time. It indicates present or future time.Past imagined situations use the past perfect tense after "if". After "if" the past perfect tense indicates past time.
P.S. This very simple explanation must be past in every grammar book.
0
You can put it in your grammar book when you write yours. Emotion: smile

CJ

Related Questions