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Curiouscat Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
HAD vs. IF
Hi,
the following sentences are both past perfect conditionals, but what is the rule behind how the the second sentence is structured? The IF conditional is gone, but it still sounds like a conditional.
In this case, are the words IF and Had interchangeable?
"If his doctor had been in town, he would've been able to get his pills"
"Had his doctor been in town, he would've been able to get his pills"
Thanks,
the following sentences are both past perfect conditionals, but what is the rule behind how the the second sentence is structured? The IF conditional is gone, but it still sounds like a conditional.
In this case, are the words IF and Had interchangeable?
"If his doctor had been in town, he would've been able to get his pills"
"Had his doctor been in town, he would've been able to get his pills"
Thanks,
Top answer
" If you had seen his face, etc. = Had you seen his face, etc. If Marla had opened the closet, = Had Marla opened the closet,
- " If you had seen his face, etc.
- = Had you seen his face, etc.
- If Marla had opened the closet, = Had Marla opened the closet,
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1 Answers
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Hi,
I would say it's generally true that
"If X had been..." is the same as "Had X been.."
If you had seen his face, etc. = Had you seen his face, etc.
If Marla had opened the closet, = Had Marla opened the closet,
I would say it's generally true that
"If X had been..." is the same as "Had X been.."
If you had seen his face, etc. = Had you seen his face, etc.
If Marla had opened the closet, = Had Marla opened the closet,
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