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Contraposition Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

conditional



What does 'would have expected' mean grammatically? Is it an implied conditional?
  

Top answer

Past conditional: If the door had been open, it would have attracted Harry's attention. ------------ The door was open, and it did attract Harry's attention. It is a conditional in the past that was actually realized.

  • Past conditional: If the door had been open, it would have attracted Harry's attention.
  • ------------ The door was open, and it did attract Harry's attention.
  • It is a conditional in the past that was actually realized.
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6 Answers
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Past conditional: If the door had been open, it would have attracted Harry's attention.
------------

The door was open, and it did attract Harry's attention.

It is a conditional in the past that was actually realized.
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AlpheccaStarsIf the door had been open
Thank you for your answering. But "If the door had been open" is factual, not counterfactual according to the previous context.
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I don't think it's a conditional. I think it's the use of would for an assertion of certainty. Dumbledore is certain that the open door was bound to attract Harry's attention.


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fivejedjonI don't think it's a conditional. I think it's the use of would for an assertion of certainty. Dumbledore is certain that the open door was bound to attract Harry's attention.
Then I suppose you prefer the following paraphrases of the non-past and the past time versions.

Naturally, it would attract your attention. ~ Naturally, it is bound
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CalifJimNaturally, it would attract your attention. ~ It's easy to imagine it attracting your attention.Naturally, it would have attracted your attention. ~ It's easy to imagine it having attracted your attention.
They are fine. I think would expresses a stronger certainty that it's easy to imagine, but that's a personal feeling.
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contraposition"If the door had been open" is factual,
That is not a factual statement. It is a conditional, because it begins with "if"

eg.
If it is raining, you can borrow an umbrella.
Does that statement tell you that it is raining or not?

A conditional is not always counterfactual:

A: My umbrella is gone!
B: John must

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