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Question

If you ever saw someone driving on the left, that would be my wife.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

Anonymous If you ever ~~saw~~ see someone driving on the left, that would be my wife.

As above for the present. For the past:

If you ever saw someone driving on the left, that would have been my wife.
__________

"would be" and "would have been" are not hypothetical. They are weakened (or probabilistic) versions of "is" and "was". This is not a true conditional statement semantically because the main clause is not actually a result of the if-clause. Note the self-referential nature of the statement. The "that" which begins the main clause is a reference to an element in the if-clause ("someone driving on the left"). Self-referential if-statements are somewhat more likely to stray from the usual grammar of conditional statements.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

CalifJim Anonymous If you ever saw see someone driving on the left, that would be my wife.As above for the present. For the past:If you ever saw someone driving on the left, that would have been my wife.________"would be" and "would have been" are not hypothetical. They are weakened (or probabilistic) versions of "is" and "was". This is not a true conditional statement semantically because the main clause is not actually a result of the if-clause. Note the self-referential nature of the statement. The "that" which begins the main clause is a reference to an element in the if-clause ("someone driving on the left"). Self-referential if-statements are somewhat more likely to stray from the usual grammar of conditional statements.CJ

Can I omit 'ever' in the sentence? Can I just say,'If you see someone driving on the left, that would be my wife.'?

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousCan I omit 'ever' in the sentence? Can I just say,'If you see someone driving on the left, that would be my wife.'?

Yes.

CJ

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