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Park sang joon Posted 11 years ago
Grammar
Conditional 2 in the past tense
The protagonist?one of Amber's princes? is now dueling with the devil and the devil talks to him.
". . . You see?" it was saying "You gave us this Gateway. Help us now, and we will restore to you that which is yours.
For a moment I was swayed. It was possible it could do just what it had offered. If I would help.
But it would be a threat forever after. Allies briefly, we would be at each one's throats after we got what we wanted?and those dark forces would be much stronger by then, I would help.
["The Guns at Avlon" of The Great Book of Amber by Roger Zelazny]
The narrator is saying his experiences to someone in the past tense.
So I was wondering why it is "It was possible it could do it had offered. If I would help.," not "If would have been possible it could do just what it had offered. If I had helped."
And I'd like to know what role "Allies briefly" plays here.
". . . You see?" it was saying "You gave us this Gateway. Help us now, and we will restore to you that which is yours.
For a moment I was swayed. It was possible it could do just what it had offered. If I would help.
But it would be a threat forever after. Allies briefly, we would be at each one's throats after we got what we wanted?and those dark forces would be much stronger by then, I would help.
["The Guns at Avlon" of The Great Book of Amber by Roger Zelazny]
The narrator is saying his experiences to someone in the past tense.
So I was wondering why it is "It was possible it could do it had offered. If I would help.," not "If would have been possible it could do just what it had offered. If I had helped."
And I'd like to know what role "Allies briefly" plays here.
Top answer
park sang joon Allies briefly, we would be at each one's throats after we got what we wanted It is a noun phrase which modifies, or restates the subject, "we" Although we would be allies for a very short time, we would be at each one's throats after we got what we wanted.
- park sang joon Allies briefly, we would be at each one's throats after we got what we wanted It is a noun phrase which modifies, or restates the subject, "we" Although we would be allies for a very short time, we would be at each one's throats after we got what we wanted.
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7 Answers
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park sang joonAllies briefly, we would be at each one's throats after we got what we wantedIt is a noun phrase which modifies, or restates the subject, "we"
Although we would be allies for a very short time, we would be at each one's throats after we got what we wanted.
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park sang joonFor a moment I was swayed. It was possible it could do just what it had offered. If I would help.The narrator (the person who is "I" here) is telling the story of what happened, so it's all in the past tense. Here's the translation:
For a moment I was swayed. It was possible it could do just what it had offered. If I would help
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Thank you, AlpheccaStars and Mr. Jim, for your very helpful answer. 
Then I think "if" means "when" here.
I'd like to a
Then I think "if" means "when" here.
I'd like to a
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park sang joonIt was possible it could do just what it had offered. If I would help.If I would help = Under the condition that I was willing and able to help it.
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park sang joonThen I think "if" means "when" here.No. "when" implies that something is certainly going to happen. We just don't know when. We're waiting for the right time.
"if" implies that we have no idea. Maybe it will happen. Maybe it won't happen.
park sang joonI'd like to know if it is grammaticalthat
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CalifJimYes. Sometimes I call this "bargaining if".The ***-for-tat "if."
If you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.
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AlpheccaStarsThe ***-for-tat "if." If you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.In contrast to "bargaining if"? If you will scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.
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