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Bamtori Posted 17 years ago
Grammar

If Clause

"If I knew him, I would have said hello."
"If I had knew him, I would have said hello."

Hello, would someone please tell which is correct? Or are there any differences in meaning beween these two?
  

Top answer

If I knew him, I would say hello. (This is for a situation that hasn't happened. You see him.

— CalifJim

  • If I knew him, I would say hello.
  • (This is for a situation that hasn't happened.
  • You see him.
  • He's there, but you don't know him, so you don't say hello.
  • -- But you can also imagine the case where you do know him.
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2 Answers
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If I knew him, I would say hello. (This is for a situation that hasn't happened. You see him. He's there, but you don't know him, so you don't say hello. -- But you can also imagine the case where you do know him. In that case, you say hello.)
If I had known him, I would have said hello. (This is for a situation that has already happened. You saw him.
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Thanks so much Jim! However, the first sentence is one of the examples of Exceptions for Conditional Sentences.

Conditional Sentences Type II (unlikely)

Condition refers to:IF ClauseMain Clause
present / future eventSimple PastIf I had a lot of money, …Conditional I
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