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Perfect Stranger Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
Movie English no. 6: from "Saints and Soldiers"
Dear All,
In the movie Saints and Soldiers: The Void a group of soldiers is on a patrol mission. Some of them are a bit tipsy because prior to their departure they were drinking. The sergant says:
We wouldn't be out here if you weren't drunk!
Is the 2nd conditional used correctly here? Shouldn't it be a mixed conditional instead?
If you hadn't been drinking, we wouldn't be out here (past action ---> present consequence)
Thanks
In the movie Saints and Soldiers: The Void a group of soldiers is on a patrol mission. Some of them are a bit tipsy because prior to their departure they were drinking. The sergant says:
We wouldn't be out here if you weren't drunk!
Is the 2nd conditional used correctly here? Shouldn't it be a mixed conditional instead?
If you hadn't been drinking, we wouldn't be out here (past action ---> present consequence)
Thanks
Top answer
Both those sentences are correct English. "drunk" is an adjective, in case you didn't realise.
- Both those sentences are correct English.
- "drunk" is an adjective, in case you didn't realise.
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3 Answers
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Both those sentences are correct English. "drunk" is an adjective, in case you didn't realise.
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GPYBoth those sentences are correct English. "drunk" is an adjective, in case you didn't realise.Thank you GPY. The thing I'm still unclear about is the choice of conditionals.
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Perfect StrangerThank you GPY. The thing I'm still unclear about is the choice of conditionals.There seems nothing unusual about either of those. The first one is talking about the present consequence of a present state, i.e. being drunk. The second one, as you say, is talking about the present consequence of a past action, i.e. previous drinking.
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