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Musicgold Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

Conditional question



Hi,



I read sentence #1 in a report. Sentence #2 is my version. Which one is better?



1. If this had been structured as a XYZ, then public investors would not currently be facing this tax burden.



2. If this had been structured as a XYZ, then public investors would not have faced this tax burden



Thanks,



MG.
  

Top answer

Sentence 2 leaves out the information that the investors are still facing the tax burden. It can be interpreted in such a way that the facing of the tax burden happened long ago. So I would say these are two different sentences with different meanings.

— CalifJim

  • Sentence 2 leaves out the information that the investors are still facing the tax burden.
  • It can be interpreted in such a way that the facing of the tax burden happened long ago.
  • So I would say these are two different sentences with different meanings.
  • Both are correct grammatically.
  • Sentence 1 illustrates a conditional pattern known as a "mixed conditional": the first clause (with if ) is about a (counterfactual) past, and the rest is about the hypothetical present result.
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1 Answers
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Sentence 2 leaves out the information that the investors are still facing the tax burden. It can be interpreted in such a way that the facing of the tax burden happened long ago.

So I would say these are two different sentences with different meanings. Both are correct grammatically. Sentence 1 illustrates a conditional pattern known as a "mixed conditional": the first clause (with
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