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Newguest Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

earned/earning

Hi

1. I could buy myself a nice house if I earned a lot of money.

--- is it also OK to say: .... if I were earning a lot of money.

Thanks
  

Top answer

Yes, but the meaning is a bit different. I could buy myself a nice house if I earned a lot of money. (To me, this implies that you would save the money that you earned and pay cash for a nice house) I could buy myself a nice house if I were earning a lot of money.

— AlpheccaStars

  • Yes, but the meaning is a bit different.
  • I could buy myself a nice house if I earned a lot of money.
  • (To me, this implies that you would save the money that you earned and pay cash for a nice house) I could buy myself a nice house if I were earning a lot of money.
  • (this means that you could qualify for a mortgage and afford to make the house payments - including taxes and insurance.
  • "if I were" is subjunctive mood, implying that you are not actually earning a lot of money now, and can't afford a nice house.
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4 Answers
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Yes, but the meaning is a bit different.
I could buy myself a nice house if I earned a lot of money. (To me, this implies that you would save the money that you earned and pay cash for a nice house)
I could buy myself a nice house if I were earning a lot of money. (this means that you could qualify for a mortgage and afford to make the house payments - including taxes and insurance. "if
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Hi

Which one would you use more often?

If you wanted to explain to somebody the usage of the 2 conditional which of them would you use as an example?
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I could buy myself a nice house if I were earning a lot of money.
This is more common. There are lots of people who don't earn enough money to afford a nice house.
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