If type

Question

She told me I would have an accident if I didn't take more care.

She told me I would have an accident if I hadn't taken more care.

Which sentence should I prefer? Which type is it in the first sentence?

Thanks

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

AnonymousShe told me I would have an accident if I didn't take more care.

Correct. It's a "second conditional".

AnonymousShe told me I would have an accident if I hadn't taken more care.

Euw! This doesn't make any sense to me. It says that you took more care in the past, but that if you hadn't done that, you would now (or soon) have an accident. It's like a prediction that something will not happen in the future, which seems weird to my ear. This combination of tenses doesn't work for this subject matter. You might get away with this if you used a stative verb, though: If I hadn't carefully washed the cut on my finger (yesterday), I would have an infected finger (today). The if-clause is in the past; the main clause is in the present. That's called a mixed conditional.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

Thanks for the detailed explanation. <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'/>

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