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Anonymous Posted 17 years ago
Grammar

Conditional sentence for the past hypothetical?

Hi. Would you say one is correct or both are correct in both sentential situations?

1. If the person who did it were/had been John, he would have said sorry but the fact is that he didn't.

2. If the perpetrator were/had been John, he would have said sorry but the fact is that he didn't.

Thank you for your anticipated help.
  

Top answer

Given the register of the rest of the sentence, this is the most natural: 1. If the person who did it was John, he would have said 'sorry' , but the fact is that he didn't. 2.

— Mister Micawber

  • Given the register of the rest of the sentence, this is the most natural: 1.
  • If the person who did it was John, he would have said 'sorry' , but the fact is that he didn't.
  • 2.
  • If the perpetrator was John, he would have said 'sorry', but the fact is that he didn't.
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1 Answers
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Given the register of the rest of the sentence, this is the most natural:

1. If the person who did it was John, he would have said 'sorry', but the fact is that he didn't.

2. If the perpetrator was John, he would have said 'sorry', but the fact is that he didn't.
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