0
Perknose Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
Conditional Tense?
Hello everyone! Please help a beleaguered lover of the English language!. I have been doing battle over this sentence:
"I'd consider myself fairly affluent in English (look, I even used a big word! ), but I honestly hate being bored."
Quite apart from his incorrect use of "affluent", I aver that he misused the conditional tense in his first clause.
My argument went thusly:
Grammatically, he is saying he'd consider himself fluent EXCEPT for the fact that he hates being bored. This is NONSENSE, grammatically.
Whether or not he hates being bored has NO bearing on whether he considers himself fluent in English. See?
He considers himself fluent in English no matter what!
He may not write or speak fluently at any one time because he "hates being bored" BUT he always considers himself fluent in English. This is his unvarying opinion of himself.
This highly favorable self-evaluation is NOT dependent or conditional on anything, let alone what is stated in the other clause in his sentence; therefore it was grammatically incorrect of him to use the conditional tense "would", even as a contraction.
Suffice it to say, the guy is not close to being fluent in English, despite whatever his Mother and all his lazy-assed teachers may have told him.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
The argument I get back is:
The sentence is grammatically sound. Context does not matter. You are correct to say poor word and tense choice distorted the idea he attempted to convey, and that may be a basis for questioning his fluency, but it is wrong to criticize the sentence grammatically.
and:
Ignoring the strange meaning of this sentence (that the writer would consider himself "affluent" if he did not hate being bored) and the context in which it was placed, it is grammatically complete and error-free. I've agreed with you that the word choice and tense have altered the intended meaning, but strictly speaking, this is a well-formed sentence.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I maintain that the use of the conditional tense here is grammatically incorrect.
Who is correct, and why?
TIA!
"I'd consider myself fairly affluent in English (look, I even used a big word! ), but I honestly hate being bored."
Quite apart from his incorrect use of "affluent", I aver that he misused the conditional tense in his first clause.
My argument went thusly:
Grammatically, he is saying he'd consider himself fluent EXCEPT for the fact that he hates being bored. This is NONSENSE, grammatically.
Whether or not he hates being bored has NO bearing on whether he considers himself fluent in English. See?
He considers himself fluent in English no matter what!
He may not write or speak fluently at any one time because he "hates being bored" BUT he always considers himself fluent in English. This is his unvarying opinion of himself.
This highly favorable self-evaluation is NOT dependent or conditional on anything, let alone what is stated in the other clause in his sentence; therefore it was grammatically incorrect of him to use the conditional tense "would", even as a contraction.
Suffice it to say, the guy is not close to being fluent in English, despite whatever his Mother and all his lazy-assed teachers may have told him.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
The argument I get back is:
The sentence is grammatically sound. Context does not matter. You are correct to say poor word and tense choice distorted the idea he attempted to convey, and that may be a basis for questioning his fluency, but it is wrong to criticize the sentence grammatically.
and:
Ignoring the strange meaning of this sentence (that the writer would consider himself "affluent" if he did not hate being bored) and the context in which it was placed, it is grammatically complete and error-free. I've agreed with you that the word choice and tense have altered the intended meaning, but strictly speaking, this is a well-formed sentence.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I maintain that the use of the conditional tense here is grammatically incorrect.
Who is correct, and why?
TIA!
Top answer
Hi, Please help a beleaguered lover of the English language!. I have been doing battle over this sentence: "I'd consider myself fairly affluent in English (look, I even used a big word! " Quite apart from his incorrect use of "affluent", I aver that he misused the conditional tense in his first clause.
- Hi, Please help a beleaguered lover of the English language!.
- I have been doing battle over this sentence: "I'd consider myself fairly affluent in English (look, I even used a big word!
- " Quite apart from his incorrect use of "affluent", I aver that he misused the conditional tense in his first clause.
- See my comment at the end.
- My argument went thusly: Grammatically, he is saying he'd consider himself fluent EXCEPT for the fact that he hates being bored.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
1 Answers
0
Hi,
Please help a beleaguered lover of the English language!. I have been doing battle over this sentence:
"I'd consider myself fairly affluent in English (look, I even used a big word! ), but I honestly hate being bored."
Quite apart from his incorrect use of "affluent", I aver that he misused the conditional tense in his first clause. See my comment at th
Please help a beleaguered lover of the English language!. I have been doing battle over this sentence:
"I'd consider myself fairly affluent in English (look, I even used a big word! ), but I honestly hate being bored."
Quite apart from his incorrect use of "affluent", I aver that he misused the conditional tense in his first clause. See my comment at th
0
Related Questions