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Park sang joon Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
A usage of conditional
I questioned the following on one of other sites, but I didn't get proper answer.
So I'd like to ask you the following, if may.
The protagonist is camping out in a forest.
He just now sensed a danger.
I saw no one before me, however. I strained my hearing after any sounds, but all I heard was the wind and popping of the fire.
It seemed as foolish to spring to my feet into a guard position when I did not know from which direction the danger was approaching as it did to remain a target. On the other hand, I had intentionally cast my cloak so that I lay with a large, low-limbed pine at my back. It would have been very difficult for someone to have approached me from the rear, let alone to have done so quietly.
["Blood of Amber" of The Great Book of Amber by Roger Zelazny]
I know the if clause is implied, but I think the underlined sentence represents conditional.
So I'd like to know if the underlined clause represents type 2 conditional in terms of the relative tense, not the absolute tense.
Thank you in advance for your help.
So I'd like to ask you the following, if may.
The protagonist is camping out in a forest.
He just now sensed a danger.
I saw no one before me, however. I strained my hearing after any sounds, but all I heard was the wind and popping of the fire.
It seemed as foolish to spring to my feet into a guard position when I did not know from which direction the danger was approaching as it did to remain a target. On the other hand, I had intentionally cast my cloak so that I lay with a large, low-limbed pine at my back. It would have been very difficult for someone to have approached me from the rear, let alone to have done so quietly.
["Blood of Amber" of The Great Book of Amber by Roger Zelazny]
I know the if clause is implied, but I think the underlined sentence represents conditional.
So I'd like to know if the underlined clause represents type 2 conditional in terms of the relative tense, not the absolute tense.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Top answer
park sang joon I questioned the following on one of other sites, but I didn't get proper answer. It would be helpful if you gave a link to the other discussion so that we know what has been said already.
- park sang joon I questioned the following on one of other sites, but I didn't get proper answer.
- It would be helpful if you gave a link to the other discussion so that we know what has been said already.
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4 Answers
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park sang joonI questioned the following on one of other sites, but I didn't get proper answer.It would be helpful if you gave a link to the other discussion so that we know what has been said already.
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park sang joonin terms of the relative tense, not the absolute tense.I don't know what you mean by this part of your question.
park sang joonI'd like to know if the underlined clause represents type 2 conditionalwould have been indicates a type 3 conditional.
park sang joonI think the underli
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Thank you, fivejedjon, for your message. 
Thank you, Mr. Jim, for another so very kind answer from you.
Thank you, Mr. Jim, for another so very kind answer from you.
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park sang joonI thought "would have been" represents conditional 3 when the context is told in the present tense, but that it maybe represents conditional 2 when the context is told in the past tense.No. The conditionals are named by their content regardless of the tenses in the sentences that surround them. Conditional 2 occurs quite often with present-ten
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