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Jack112 Posted 21 years ago
Grammar

Conditional

1. "Bre will you sit down, they'll be all right and Jack will show up, she probably is over at the E club with some of the DI's having a beer."

2. "She would have called if she was gonna be late. Where's my car keys? I'm going to the hospital to see Ronnie."

I don't understand why isn't #2 like this:

3. "She would have called if she is gonna be late. Where's my car keys? I'm going to the hospital to see Ronnie." (I don't know if she is late or not, so doesn't it make more sense with 'is' even though it contradicts the conditional rule? With 'was', I'm saying she is not going to be late?)

If only 'was' is correct, does it convey what I want to say though?

Thanks.

  

Top answer

It seems to me that she is already late; otherwise, they would not be grabbing the car keys and going. In that case, #2 is the only appropriate choice. If we do not know, then either #2 or #3 will do it-- with current truth, you have the option of regression.

— Mister Micawber

  • It seems to me that she is already late; otherwise, they would not be grabbing the car keys and going.
  • In that case, #2 is the only appropriate choice.
  • If we do not know, then either #2 or #3 will do it-- with current truth, you have the option of regression.
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7 Answers
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It seems to me that she is already late; otherwise, they would not be grabbing the car keys and going. In that case, #2 is the only appropriate choice. If we do not know, then either #2 or #3 will do it-- with current truth, you have the option of regression.
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Shouldn't it be "where are my car's keys?"
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PieanneShouldn't it be "where are my car's keys?"

Hello Pieanne

Yes, "where are my car keys?" is better.

MrP
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The whole thing is grammatically incorrect but that's what you get when you report colloquial speech. It's how (some) people talk but it's not right.
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It's not so bad. It only needs a clean shirt and a haircut:

"Bre, will you sit down? They'll be all right; and Jack will show up; she probably is over at the E Club with some of the DIs having a beer."

"She would have called if she was going to be late. Where are my car keys? I'm going to the hospital to see Ronnie."

MrP
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People do not talk ungrammatically. The grammar of the written language, SWE/SFE, is much different than the grammar of spoken English. Language science knows this and has proven it time and again.

In speech, we often say; "Here's/where's/there's + plural noun". In fact studies prove that this pattern predominates even with plural nouns.

"She would have called if she w
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KatsudonPeople do not talk ungrammatically.

In that case, why do people correct their own grammar as they speak?

MrP
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