"Elliptical" result clause in second conditional?
(https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/152767/schooling-did-have-done);; in the second answer, they write:
I don't agree with lina above because, if you were to say, "I went to school at St. Xavier's," that doesn't mean that you actually graduated, so such a statement could be ambiguous.
What type of conditional sentence is this? It doesn't look to me like a second conditional. Does the result clause use ellipsis, for example:
if you were to say, "I went to school at St. Xavier's," I would say/argue (that) that doesn't mean that you actually graduated
Top answer
It's a mixed conditional. The if -clause is a second conditional; the result clause belongs in a first conditional. I would not explain it as ellipsis.
- It's a mixed conditional.
- The if -clause is a second conditional; the result clause belongs in a first conditional.
- I would not explain it as ellipsis.
- It's not a good enough sentence to make excuses for it.
- ", it wouldn't mean that ....
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It's a mixed conditional. The if-clause is a second conditional; the result clause belongs in a first conditional.
I would not explain it as ellipsis. It's not a good enough sentence to make excuses for it. I would just say that it was 'a slip of the pen', and it should have been
If you were to say "...", it wouldn't mean that ....
Or
If you s
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