Conditional

Hello Jack

I think either is OK, but I feel native speakers will choose rather . It seems not because of logical reasons. It seems rather because they feel odd with a sentence where a sudden tense change takes place ([url="http://www.EnglishForward.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=70746

I would choose 'was' – the subjunctive + conditional (type 2) structure has such a strong sense of unreality, that 'is' would jar; whereas 'was' is happily unreal.

MrP

I would choose 'was' – the subjunctive + conditional (type 2) structure has such a strong sense of unreality, that 'is' would jar; whereas 'was' is happily unreal.

So you are saying 'was' is not past tense? It is a conditional?

What about these? Should I use 'was' or 'is' ?
1. If that were the case, I would talk to him about what is wrong.

Hello Jack

Pair A: #1 and #2

This is a slightly different case, as the possibility of ambiguity is quite strong. The hypothesis could relate either to an existing fact ('it is still wrong') or a past fact ('it used to be wrong'). So here, it would be natural to say 'is' (#1) if you wanted to make it clear that what was wrong was still wrong.

Nonetheless, there

That said, many people would no doubt use the #3 form.

So you are saying people would use this as well? For 'back up' to be present?

But technically there is no difference in meaning between #3 and #4?


Thanks.

1. If that were the case, I'd make sure my data had been backed up. (I'd check I did a backup yesterday.)

2. If that were the case, I'd make sure my data was backed up. (I'd do a backup at some hypothetical time.)

3. If that's the case, I'd make sure my data was backed up. (I advise you to back up your data now.)

4. If that's the case, I'd make sure the data's backed

Thanks MrPedantic, you have cleared things up very well.

Are these correct? What do they mean?
1. If I were older that would make me an adult, a very responsible adult who drinks carefully.

2. If I were older that would make me an adult, a very responsible adult who drank carefully.

Thanks.

Hello Jack

To make this easier, I'll divide the sentence up into 4 sections:

'If I were older, |
that would make me an adult, |
a very responsible adult |
who drinks/drank carefully.'

The first two sections in each case make a standard type 2 conditional:

a) If I were older, that would make me an adult...

The 3rd section restates

I wonder if "were" could be used as I read in grammar books that "were" is the formal form of "be" in the subjunctive structure. "Was" is acceptable, as pointed out in grammar books.