"If he asks for your support will/would you back him up."

Question

Which is correct and why?: "If he asks for your support will/would you back him up."Thanks.

Fatimah0786 · Accepted Answer

Wanted to add something:
I know that would shows probability and 'will' shows certainty but I often get confused about its usage in such sentences mentioned in my previous post.

Fatimah0786 · Answer

ANYONE?

CalifJim · Answer

fatimah0786Which is correct and why?

If he asks for your support, will you back him up? Standard. (IF present tense, ... WILL ....)
If he asks for your support, would you back him up? Much less used. Many people consider it a mistake, and they take it to mean the same as the standard form. Alternately, they think of this one as "are you willing to back him up?"

You almost can't go wrong if you stick to
will with IF + present and
would with IF + past.

CJ

CalifJim · Answer

fatimah0786Wanted to add something:I know that would shows probability and 'will' shows certainty but I often get confused about its usage in such sentences mentioned in my previous post.

It's going to get very confusing if you think in terms of probability and certainty. Nobody goes through all those mental gymnastics to determine whether they need will or would! You'll do better to stop thinking that way and just use the standard forms as outlined in my previous post.

CJ

Fatimah0786 · Answer

Thanks for the reply. Are you saying that the sentence should be something like this:
If he asks for your support, will you back him up? (IF present tense, ... WILL ....)
If he asked for your support, would you back him up? (would with IF + past).

CalifJim · Answer

fatimah0786Thanks for the reply. Are you saying that the sentence should be something like this:If he asks for your support, will you back him up? (IF present tense, ... WILL ....)If he asked for your support, would you back him up? (would with IF + past).

Yes. Exactly. Those are standard. My guess is that these standard patterns account for 95% of sentences of this type.

CJ

Fatimah0786 · Answer

Thanks for the reply<img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' alt='Emotion: smile'/>. So the only difference between sentence 1 and 2 is the tense, apart from that there is no difference in meaning, right?

CalifJim · Answer

fatimah0786Thanks for the reply. So the only difference between sentence 1 and 2 is the tense, apart from that there is no difference in meaning, right?

1 If he asks for your support, will you back him up?
2 If he asked for your support, would you back him up?

Yes. The tense is different, as you know. There is no difference in meaning if we define "meaning" very narrowly. The difference is in usage, or, to be more exact, the circumstances under which the speaker would use one or the other.

1 is used when the speaker feels that the situation is currently before him and that the consequence of the if-clause can come about in a practical way in real time. In the opinion of the speaker, the condition expressed by the if-clause is already in effect or is soon to be in effect, and the consequence really can happen.

2 is used when the speaker is only doing "arm-chair philosophy" — imagining a situation that may or may not actually exist, but asking what the consequences would be if the situation really did exist.

The grammar books usually give examples that are the most extreme and therefore the easiest to understand. Here are some:

If my flight is canceled, I'll take the train. [The speaker has already scheduled a flight. He is faced with the need to get to his destination.]
If it's cold tomorrow, I'll take a jacket to work with me. [The speaker is faced with the real situation of having to go to work tomorrow, and he is making preparations that he can carry out in real time.]
If I won a million dollars, I'd buy a big, luxurious home. [The speaker is not currently in a position to spend a million dollars, and his chances of winning are very slight. When he says this, he is living in a kind of dream-world where he imagines that he has won a million dollars.]
If we had the eyes of a dog, we would not be able to see colors in the same way that we see them as humans. [The speaker knows that we do not have the eyes of a dog. There is no possibility at all that we could ever see the way dogs do. The whole statement is in the world of the imagination.]
____________

However, the examples that we often need to deal with in our daily lives are not so obvious as those in the books. Almost any situation can be thought of in either way. That's the problem for the learner. You have to choose one pattern or the other, depending on how you feel about the situation you're speaking about. Is it really a situation that currently exists? Or are you only imagining that maybe that situation could exist? That's the difference. In a great many cases, no one else can choose except you. Either way is grammatically correct, but you have to say one or the other.

In the case at hand, if you're speaking to someone who is about to be asked for support, or that's very likely, for example if you are actually in the situation at work where this could happen, you need 1. On the other hand, if you are the spouse of the person that might be asked for support or his best friend, and you are just discussing this situation over a meal as a possibility that may never materialize in real life, then you need 2. Note how the physical location of the speaker and the social context in which he speaks can influence his choice.

CJ

"If he asks for your support will/would you back him up."

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions