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Perfect Stranger Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

Grammar question no. 90: if the burger was...

Hello there,

Here are two situations:

1) Two people are having lunch. They've just ordered hamburgers in a Mexican-style burger chain. The burgers are served and the one of the people says:

If it was warmer, it would taste better.

I suppose this is correct. II conditional used in a clear way. Now the burger is not warm enough and the person expresses a wish. Am I right? However, perhaps the person should say:

If the burger was warmer, it would have been better?

2) Right after the meal person A asks person B "Did you like the burger?" and person B replies:

If it was warmer, it would have been better.

This is what my Irish co-worker said right after having finished the burger. In my humble opinion he should have used the III conditional here, i.e. If it had been warmer, it would have been better. The burger is finished, it kinda belongs to the past now, I suppose.

Looking forward to you comments.

Thanks
  

Top answer

In the flow of conversation, people don't think much about grammatical construction. The message that the burger was not served at the ideal temperature was pretty clear.

— AlpheccaStars

  • In the flow of conversation, people don't think much about grammatical construction.
  • The message that the burger was not served at the ideal temperature was pretty clear.
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6 Answers
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In the flow of conversation, people don't think much about grammatical construction. The message that the burger was not served at the ideal temperature was pretty clear.
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OK, I get it. However, was I correct in my way of thinking about conditionals? Technically speaking the 3rd one should have been used, shouldn't it?
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Perfect Stranger Technically speaking the 3rd one should have been used, shouldn't it?
There is little point in talking about the technical correctness of should(n't) have when discussing conversations over a hamburger. Grammatically correct debates that might meet the approval of Strunk and White are often inappropriate in McDonalds.
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fivejedjonThere is little point in talking about the technical correctness of should(n't) have when discussing conversations over a hamburger. Grammatically correct debates that might meet the approval of Strunk and White are often inappropriate in McDonalds.
Sure, you could say that there's no point paying attention to grammar when it comes to having chats ov
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fivejedjonThere is little point in talking about the technical correctness of should(n't) have when discussing conversations over a hamburger. Grammatically correct debates that might meet the approval of Strunk and White are often inappropriate in McDonalds.
Sure, you could say that there's no point paying attention to grammar when it comes to having chats ov
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I'd really like to hear more comments from you guys... After all, it's an important grammatical point. Please don't delete this post before it's posted.
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