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Anonymous Posted 10 years ago
Grammar

Grammatical collocation

If Martin had time tomorrow, he would write a business letter to Mr Smith.

Is there any explanation for grammatical collocation of the past "had" with the future "tomorrow" in the above if-clause?
  

Top answer

The sentence is "contrary to fact" future, requiring the subjunctive (past tense form). We know he won't have time tomorrow.

— Englishmaven

  • The sentence is "contrary to fact" future, requiring the subjunctive (past tense form).
  • We know he won't have time tomorrow.
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2 Answers
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The sentence is "contrary to fact" future, requiring the subjunctive (past tense form). We know he won't have time tomorrow.
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EnglishmavenThe sentence is "contrary to fact" future, requiring the subjunctive (past tense form). We know he won't have time tomorrow.
Thank you for the reply. So, if I understood it correctly, the past "had", a subjunctive, means a 'false past' form here.
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