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Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
If it doesn't / didn't work...
A. If it doesn't work at all, please call me.
B. If it didn't work at all, please call me.
1. Are both sentences above correct?
2. In my opinion, only the first sentence is correct. I'm not sure, though. Can I use B to mean something happened between "now" and "future" (somewhat like "past in the future")?
3. My understanding is the person speaking in A thinks of the "not working" as something to happen in the future; whereas in B, the person thinks of the "not working" as something that has happened before the future, but after "now". Is my interpretation correct?
4. Is there a better way to rewrite sentence B to mean exactly as I wrote above in no. 3?
B. If it didn't work at all, please call me.
1. Are both sentences above correct?
2. In my opinion, only the first sentence is correct. I'm not sure, though. Can I use B to mean something happened between "now" and "future" (somewhat like "past in the future")?
3. My understanding is the person speaking in A thinks of the "not working" as something to happen in the future; whereas in B, the person thinks of the "not working" as something that has happened before the future, but after "now". Is my interpretation correct?
4. Is there a better way to rewrite sentence B to mean exactly as I wrote above in no. 3?
Top answer
1. -- Yes. 2.
- 1.
- -- Yes.
- 2.
- -- No.
- 3.
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4 Answers
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1. Are both sentences above correct?-- Yes.
2. Can I use B to mean something happened between "now" and "future" (somewhat like "past in the future")?-- No.
3. My understanding is the person speaking in A thinks of the "not working" as something to happen in the future; whereas in B, the person thinks of the "not working" as something that has happened before the
2. Can I use B to mean something happened between "now" and "future" (somewhat like "past in the future")?-- No.
3. My understanding is the person speaking in A thinks of the "not working" as something to happen in the future; whereas in B, the person thinks of the "not working" as something that has happened before the
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Thank you for all your answers to my questions. That was really helpful.
What if I wrote the following? Can this mean an action completed in the future?
How is it different from sentence A?
C. If it hasn't work at all, please call me.
What if I wrote the following? Can this mean an action completed in the future?
How is it different from sentence A?
C. If it hasn't work at all, please call me.
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Yes, could apply to the future if context lets us know that the attempt has not yet been made.
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I have just read your post. Thank you for your answer. This is clear to me now.
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