Help me please.

Question

Suppose, I sold my phone on 10th January.

I sold my phone because if I didn't, he would take it away.

This sentence is correct and it means if I didn’t sell it when I had the opportunity to sell it, he was going to take it away at a later time on the 10th January or later. It is basically the past of “if I don’t sell my phone, he will take it away.”.

and,

I sold my phone because if I hadn’t, he would’ve taken it away.

This sentence is correct and it means I sold it on 10th March. If I didn’t, he was going to take it the same day, 10th January.

Do you agree? Or can someone explain better please?

GPY · Accepted Answer

anonymousI sold my phone because if I didn't, he would take it away.
This sentence is correct

Actually, it's not correct.

anonymousI sold my phone because if I hadn’t, he would’ve taken it away.

This is the correct way to say it.

anonymousThis sentence is correct and it means I sold it on 10th March. If I didn’t, he was going to take it the same day, 10th January.

I think you typed "March" when you meant "January", right?

No, the second sentence does not necessarily mean that the phone would have been taken away later on the same day. It could have been later on the same day or on a subsequent day.

Help me please.

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