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Whatchadoin Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

Had tried

If you had tried you would've done it.
Had you tried you would've done it.
Do these two have exactly the same meaning and both can be used in formal writing? Is the first one informal?
  

Top answer

Hi, There's no real difference in meaning. The less common 'had you' construction makes #2 more formal. The use of would've makes both less formal than ' would have '.

  • Hi, There's no real difference in meaning.
  • The less common 'had you' construction makes #2 more formal.
  • The use of would've makes both less formal than ' would have '.
  • Clive
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1 Answers
0
Hi,

There's no real difference in meaning.

The less common 'had you' construction makes #2 more formal.
The use of would've makes both less formal than 'would have'.

Clive

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