Conditional sentence

Question

Hey folks.I have a confusion about these two types of conditional sentences:If i were .. I would...If i had ... i would have.. To me, both of these structures express a situation in which you if something was the case or if you had something then you would do another thing as a result and i can't distinguish the difference clearly. now mind you i know of some situation like : If i had that kind of money, i'd spend a fine vacation in Spain.Which shows that you obviously don't have that kind of cash but if you had then vacationing in Spain were the way you would spend that money for. or If i had known that i would have helped you.Valid for a situation like when a friend tells you about her/his hard day cleaning or.. and you say oh, i would have helped you if i knew that.All that being said sometimes i sometimes can't decide which structure is right or suitable. I'd really appreciate if any native speaker could illustrate that,possibly with a few examples.Many thanksP.s.No need to mention that if you see any mistake or error in the body of question you're 100% welcome to mention it

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

If I were .. I would... -- This applies to the present or future
If I had ...I would have.. -- This applies to the past

If I had that kind of money today or tomorrow, I'd spend a fine vacation in Spain.
If I had known that yesterday I would have helped you.

What is the matter with you people that you cannot capitalize the first person singular subjective personal pronoun? You needn't be asking about conditionals if you cannot accomplish that simple task.

Michael841 · Answer

Thanks for that concise explanation.
Now about capitalizing the pronoun "I", Well i was just not aware of that rule.
By the way telling off students is not the best way of teaching in my humble opinion.

Mister Micawber · Answer

Tough love, Michael.  Now maybe you'll remember.

CalifJim · Answer

Michael841can't decide which structure is right or suitable.

It's the difference between a situation that exists or might come up later and a situation that's already past and too late to do anything about. Or, in other words, it's the difference between hope and regret in many cases. That second form with "would have" is counterfactual. The situation described there definitely did not happen.

If I won the lotto, I'd travel to Spain. (Some day it might happen!)
If I had won the lotto, I would have traveled to Spain. (I didn't win. I didn't go to Spain.)

I wouldn't recognize him even if I saw him. (I might see him some day, but it won't do any good because I won't recognize him.)
I wouldn't have recognized him even if I had seen him. (I didn't see him, so I had no chance to recognize him.)

If his paintings became popular, he would paint more of them. (Maybe his paintings will become popular.)
If his paintings had become popular, he would have painted more of them. (His paintings, unfortunately, did not become popular. He did not paint more of them.)

If he asked her to go to dinner with him, she would accept. (He hasn't asked yet, but there's a chance he will.)
If he had asked her to go to dinner with him, she would have accepted. (He did not ask, and now he's missed his chance. Too bad.)

They would say, "No, thank you" if he offered the use of his car. (He has not made the offer, but he may.)
They would have said, "No, thank you" if he had offered the use of his car. (He did not make the offer, which is just as well because they were going to reject his offer anyway.)

CJ

Michael841 · Answer

I can't say how much i'm thankful, really informative and precise. I won't be speaking wrongly when using conditional sentences anymore and consequently won't be feeling stressed out thanks to you.

Conditional sentence

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions