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Anonymous Posted 19 years ago
Grammar
Hypothetical Question
Hi,
Should hypothetical question always be in the simple past tense(present form)?
The reason why I'm asking this question is because I've been hearing some people using present simple present/present prefect & future tense like the example below.
Eg., "What will you do, if one of your staff has been absenting from work too frequently and doesn't give reasonable excuses"? Is this correct?
On the other-hand to what extend should my answer to a hypothetical question (simple past tense) be in simple past tense?
Appreciate if anyone could comment on these questions, thank you.
Regards,
Jeeva
Should hypothetical question always be in the simple past tense(present form)?
The reason why I'm asking this question is because I've been hearing some people using present simple present/present prefect & future tense like the example below.
Eg., "What will you do, if one of your staff has been absenting from work too frequently and doesn't give reasonable excuses"? Is this correct?
On the other-hand to what extend should my answer to a hypothetical question (simple past tense) be in simple past tense?
Appreciate if anyone could comment on these questions, thank you.
Regards,
Jeeva
Top answer
The if clause is the antecedent clause, the other clause is the consequent clause. Answer a question in the same tense as the tense of the consequent clause. This is not usually going to be the simple past.
- The if clause is the antecedent clause, the other clause is the consequent clause.
- Answer a question in the same tense as the tense of the consequent clause.
- This is not usually going to be the simple past.
- What will you do if ...?
- I will ....
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10 Answers
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The if clause is the antecedent clause, the other clause is the consequent clause.
Answer a question in the same tense as the tense of the consequent clause. This is not usually going to be the simple past.
What will you do if ...? I will ....
What would you do if ...? I would ....
Answer a question in the same tense as the tense of the consequent clause. This is not usually going to be the simple past.
What will you do if ...? I will ....
What would you do if ...? I would ....
What will you do,
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CalifJimThe if clause is the antecedent clause, the other clause is the consequent clause.
Answer a question in the same tense as the tense of the consequent clause. This is not usually going to be the simple past.
What will you do if ...? I will ....
What would you do if ...? I would ....What will you do
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Thanks for the input Jim.
My following concern is....
Hypothetical questions are very commonly used in job interviews...so
If you were an interviewer would use real or unreal condition when you raise questions(hypothetical) to your candidate?
Warm Regards,
Jeeva
My following concern is....
Hypothetical questions are very commonly used in job interviews...so
If you were an interviewer would use real or unreal condition when you raise questions(hypothetical) to your candidate?
Warm Regards,
Jeeva
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In the context of a job interview question: Unreal. Always. These are definitely asking the interviewee to step into an imaginary world and pretend what he or she would do in an imaginary situation. The fact that they don't have the job yet certainly makes the situation imaginary.
-- If ... happened, what would you .....?
-- I would ...
-- If ... happened, woul
-- If ... happened, what would you .....?
-- I would ...
-- If ... happened, woul
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Hi, CalifJim.
Is it wrong to write "What would/will you do if one of you staff has been (not 'is absent') from work too frequently and doesn't (or didn't??) give reasonable excuses?"
I don't think the above sentence is incorrect and believe it is a matter of looking at it from a different time perspective. The present perfect just represents some kind of relevance to the
Is it wrong to write "What would/will you do if one of you staff has been (not 'is absent') from work too frequently and doesn't (or didn't??) give reasonable excuses?"
I don't think the above sentence is incorrect and believe it is a matter of looking at it from a different time perspective. The present perfect just represents some kind of relevance to the
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It seems unusual to me to use the present perfect there, which is why I changed it, but I wouldn't say it is actually grammatically incorrect. will goes with has been, by the way.
If you have been good all year, Santa will bring you lots of presents.
CJ
If you have been good all year, Santa will bring you lots of presents.
CJ
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Thank you, Jim.
I think a similarity can be found with the following sentence for the use of 'will' with 'has been' in the if-clause:
If you are good, I will bring you some presents.
Your sentence's 'has been' shows a relevance to the present so the above Condtional 1 sentence would be similar.
How about this?
1. If you were good all year, S
I think a similarity can be found with the following sentence for the use of 'will' with 'has been' in the if-clause:
If you are good, I will bring you some presents.
Your sentence's 'has been' shows a relevance to the present so the above Condtional 1 sentence would be similar.
How about this?
1. If you were good all year, S
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>Should hypothetical question always be in the simple past tense (present form)?
You should say:
- questions/a question
You should say:
- questions/a question
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In the U.S. Santa comes on the evening of December 24, so on the last day of the year, one would say:
How about this?
1. If you were good all year, Santa would bring you lots presents.
I think this would be appropriate if I am talking to someone at the last day of the year. Right?
If you had been good all year, Santa would have brou
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