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Rajesh jain Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

Conditional

If I was bothering them they could have said something to me?
Is it a conditional sentence or used simply ?Won't it be more correct to say "if I had been bothering them"
  

Top answer

It's a correct, conditional sentence. If I was bothering them, they could have said something to me. (" could is less likely here) The second differs from the first in that it depicts a counter-factual past event whereas the first describes a past situation that hasn't yet been verified.

  • It's a correct, conditional sentence.
  • If I was bothering them, they could have said something to me.
  • (" could is less likely here) The second differs from the first in that it depicts a counter-factual past event whereas the first describes a past situation that hasn't yet been verified.
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1 Answers
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It's a correct, conditional sentence.

If I was bothering them, they could have said something to me. ("should" will also work here)

If I had been bothering them, they would have said something to me.("could is less likely here)

The second differs from the first in that it depicts a counter-factual past event whereas the first describes a past

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