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Anonymous Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

Modal "should" in the second conditional?

Hi. Please tell me if the underlined sentence is correct. Let's set up a hypothetical situation where a certain number of points or units is given if you take a course, and this person has taken all the available courses for the year, but aren't sure of the total points or units he has received so far. Could he say the part by B when asked by someone the question for A ? Could we have the modal "could" in the main sentence in what is the second conditional? I think not.

A: How many points or units have you gotten so far?
B: I don't know, but if there were the maximum points or units available, I should be the one who has them.
  

Top answer

B does not sound reasonable in any case, since you have indicated that taking each course awards a known number of points, and the student must know how many courses he took. A: How many points or units have you gotten so far? B: I got the maximum available.

— Mister Micawber

  • B does not sound reasonable in any case, since you have indicated that taking each course awards a known number of points, and the student must know how many courses he took.
  • A: How many points or units have you gotten so far?
  • B: I got the maximum available.
  • If for some odd reason, the number of points awarded is unknown, then: B: I don't know, but I got the maximum available.
  • I think you had better create a different example for what concerns you.
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1 Answers
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B does not sound reasonable in any case, since you have indicated that taking each course awards a known number of points, and the student must know how many courses he took.

A: How many points or units have you gotten so far?
B: I got the maximum available.

If for some odd reason, the number of points awarded is unknown, then:

B: I don't know,
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