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Misko Pisko Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

if I knew

Is is normal to say "If I knew" instead of "Had I known"? Thanks
  

Top answer

No. 'If I had known' or 'had I known' are the more natural forms.

— Fivejedjon

  • No.
  • 'If I had known' or 'had I known' are the more natural forms.
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7 Answers
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No. 'If I had known' or 'had I known' are the more natural forms.
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Hello,
If I knew refers to present and if I had known refers to past
For example;
If I knew his number, I could call him now. (Present)
If I had known his number, I could have called him. (Past)
Regards
Hamid
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Hello, thank you. So why does she say "If I Knew You Were Comin' I'D 'VE Baked a Cake" in the song? Just for the rhyme?

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As fivejedon mentioned, the correct form has to be
If I had known or had I known
Misko PiskoHello, thank you. So why does she say "If I Knew You Were Comin' I'D 'VE Baked a Cake" in the song? Just for the rhyme?
I have seen many grammatical mistakes in songs, so it doesn't surprise me. Here, the mixed conditional is used which does not make se
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Misko PiskoHello, thank you. So why does she say "If I Knew You Were Comin' I'D 'VE Baked a Cake" in the song? Just for the rhyme?
Yes, pretty much. "If I knew" flows better than "Had I known" or "If I had known." The number of syllables in a line is also important, which is why people often ignore grammar rules when writing song lyrics.
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Misko Pisko"If I knew" instead of "Had I known" (or "If I had known")?
It is normal among some speakers. We are told quite often that the past can sometimes substitute for the past perfect, and even though this does not usually apply to the third-conditional pattern, you will often hear it when a commonly used stative verb
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