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Pructus Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
If I wanted ~~, I would have.
If I wanted to kill him back then, I would have.
Hi,
The above is from an American Drama, NCIS, season seven.
According to many grammar books, I guess, the above sentence should be "If I had wanted to kill him back then, I would have.
Is this "If I wanted~~" some kind of informal style?
Or is it ungrammatical but just what people use anyway?
Hi,
The above is from an American Drama, NCIS, season seven.
According to many grammar books, I guess, the above sentence should be "If I had wanted to kill him back then, I would have.
Is this "If I wanted~~" some kind of informal style?
Or is it ungrammatical but just what people use anyway?
Top answer
Informal, perhaps. Uneducated, definitely. Most American TV shows should not be used as a guide to good grammar.
- Informal, perhaps.
- Uneducated, definitely.
- Most American TV shows should not be used as a guide to good grammar.
- Even scripted dialogue is often sloppy.
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2 Answers
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Informal, perhaps. Uneducated, definitely. Most American TV shows should not be used as a guide to good grammar. Even scripted dialogue is often sloppy.
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That's because conversational English rarely follows all grammar rules, and in fact it would be odd if you spoke completely correctly.
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