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OttoJ Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
Had I been
-Had I been able to..., I would have been... (=If I had been able...)
-Could I do..., I would... (=If I could do...)
Those woulds indicate hypotheticality; can I use those inversions (had I been=If I had been; were/was I you=if I were/was you) for non-hypothetical situations?
eg Had I opened the window this before I went to the shop, my father will be dead. (will, not would)
-Could I do..., I would... (=If I could do...)
Those woulds indicate hypotheticality; can I use those inversions (had I been=If I had been; were/was I you=if I were/was you) for non-hypothetical situations?
eg Had I opened the window this before I went to the shop, my father will be dead. (will, not would)
Top answer
No. , I would... ) This one doesn't really work.
- No.
- , I would...
- ) This one doesn't really work.
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3 Answers
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No.
OttoJ-Could I do..., I would... (=If I could do...)This one doesn't really work.
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Thank you. If my sentence doesn't work, in what situation can we use 'could I do' for 'If I could do'? I agree it's less common, but I've seen this in English literature.
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OttoJThank you. If my sentence doesn't work, in what situation can we use 'could I do' for 'If I could do'? I agree it's less common, but I've seen this in English literature.Unless there's some case I'm overlooking, this usage is barely possible in any context, and I would not recommend ever using it. Do you have any specific examples that you have seen?
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