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Hi All,Which following sentences are correct and why?What would I have to do, if I had to end my contract?What would I have to do, if I were to end my contract?Both these sentences may well be wrong. If so, please let me kow the correct form. I am bit confused in using this form of sentences.Best Regards,Nene.

Mr Wordy · Accepted Answer

Hi Nene,

"What would I have to do?" is potentially ambiguous. It could mean "What would I be obliged/forced to do?" or "What activity (other than sitting around doing nothing) would be available for me to do?". I'm not sure which meaning you had in mind.

"... if I had to end my contract" means "if I was obliged/forced to end my contract".

"... if I were to end my contract" does not have the "obliged to" connotation, but implies that it's your choice to end it.

In everyday conversation, it would be more common to say something like:

"What would I do if I my contract ended?" (it came to its natural end, or was terminated by someone else)

"What would I do if I ended my contract?" (I decided to end it).

Here, "What would I do?" means "What would happen to me?" / "How would I cope" / "What other work could I do?" -- that kind of thing.

Huevos · Answer

Mr Wordy"What would I do if I my contract ended?"

Nene4english · Answer

Hi Mr. Wordy,

Thanks a lot for the reply.

The contract doesn't end now, it has some more months to end. But I want to end it myself. I want to know what am I supposed to do to end it...may be give notice etc. I want to write to the landlord to know what am I supposed to do if I want to end the contract now itself.

I am trying to use the conditionals here(present unreal) (well..I am not sure if I can use them in this context).

Best Regards,
Nene.

Huevos · Answer

I wish to terminate my contract. What action do I need to take?
If I wished to terminate my contract what action would I need to take?

Mr Wordy · Answer

nene4englishI want to write to the landlord to know what am I supposed to do if I want to end the contract now itself.

Aha. In that case you could say:

"What do I have to do to end my contract?"

But this could sound a bit abrupt. There are innumerable ways of saying it more politely. One that comes to mind is something like:

"If possible, I'd like to end my contract early. Is this something that we can arrange?"

Nene4english · Answer

Does it mean we cannot use "If I were to" in this context?

Nene4english · Answer

Many thanks for you guys for all your replies.

Wordy, I agree that there are many possible ways to ask this question. But, here, I am trying to use the conditionals in this context. Is it opssible at all to use the conditionals in this context?

Let me put it this way... I do not want to end the contract now..but "IF I want to, what am I supposed to do"? I hope this will give you an idea on what I am looking for.

Sorry if I am not being clear here.

Rgds,
Nene.

Mr Wordy · Answer

nene4englishDoes it mean we cannot use "If I were to" in this context?

It doesn't really work. "What would I do if I were to end my contract" is asking what you would do after you ended it (if you did end it), not what you need to do in order to end it. (It also implies that ending it is something that's entirely within your power to do. This may be the case -- there may be a clause in your agreement that allows this -- or it may not.)

Mr Wordy · Answer

nene4englishLet me put it this way... I do not want to end the contract now..but "IF I want to, what am I supposed to do"? I hope this will give you an idea on what I am looking for.

You could say:

"What would I need to do if I wanted to end the contract now?"

New2grammar · Answer

What would I need to do if I were to end my contract next month.
Is this OK?

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