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Prolix Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
Past Conditional
Hi everyone,
I understand that this usage is common:
If I had seen you, I would have waved and said "hello". I believe that this is termed the past conditional.
My question: is it all right to change had seen to saw?
If I saw you, I would have waved and said "hello". The reason I ask this is because I have read that where the if clause is not presupposed to be false, the indicative should be used. To quote the Free Dictionary website:
"When the situation described by the if clause is not presupposed to be false, however, that clause must contain an indicative verb, and the choice of verb in the main clause will depend on the intended meaning: If Hamlet was really written by Marlowe, as many have argued, then we have underestimated Marlowe's genius. If Kevin was out all day, then it makes sense that he couldn't answer the phone."
(http://www.thefreedictionary.com/IF)
I am a bit confused here, and would be grateful for some help. All along, I have been taught to always (more or less) use the past participle in the above examples (i.e., If Hamlet had been written..., If Kevin had been out all day...). Is this a matter of British/American English differences?
Thank you.
I understand that this usage is common:
If I had seen you, I would have waved and said "hello". I believe that this is termed the past conditional.
My question: is it all right to change had seen to saw?
If I saw you, I would have waved and said "hello". The reason I ask this is because I have read that where the if clause is not presupposed to be false, the indicative should be used. To quote the Free Dictionary website:
"When the situation described by the if clause is not presupposed to be false, however, that clause must contain an indicative verb, and the choice of verb in the main clause will depend on the intended meaning: If Hamlet was really written by Marlowe, as many have argued, then we have underestimated Marlowe's genius. If Kevin was out all day, then it makes sense that he couldn't answer the phone."
(http://www.thefreedictionary.com/IF)
I am a bit confused here, and would be grateful for some help. All along, I have been taught to always (more or less) use the past participle in the above examples (i.e., If Hamlet had been written..., If Kevin had been out all day...). Is this a matter of British/American English differences?
Thank you.
Top answer
Standard, normal, correct forms. If I see you, I will say 'hello' / I say 'hello'. If I saw you, I would say 'hello'.
- Standard, normal, correct forms.
- If I see you, I will say 'hello' / I say 'hello'.
- If I saw you, I would say 'hello'.
- If I had seen you, I would have said 'hello'.
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4 Answers
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Standard, normal, correct forms.
If I see you, I will say 'hello' / I say 'hello'.
If I saw you, I would say 'hello'.
If I had seen you, I would have said 'hello'.
If I see you, I will say 'hello' / I say 'hello'.
If I saw you, I would say 'hello'.
If I had seen you, I would have said 'hello'.
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This is possible:
If I saw you, I said hello. If I didn't say hello, then I didn't see you.
This could be a response to someone who claimed that I saw them last week, but did not say hello. I have no memory of seeing them, but I know that I would have said hello if I had seen them. The fact that I did not say hello indicates that I did not see them.
If I saw you, I said hello. If I didn't say hello, then I didn't see you.
This could be a response to someone who claimed that I saw them last week, but did not say hello. I have no memory of seeing them, but I know that I would have said hello if I had seen them. The fact that I did not say hello indicates that I did not see them.
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prolixAll along, I have been taught to always (more or less) use the past participle in the above examples (i.e., If Hamlet had been written..., If Kevin had been out all day...). Is this a matter of British/American English differences?No. It's not a British/American difference. What you learned was slightly incomplete. You really can have the patterns sh
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Hi Philip, fivejedjon and CalifJim,
Thank you for your help! And special thanks to you, CalifJim. You always manage to make things so clear and easy to understand. If only I had someone as good as you are when I was a student!
Thank you for your help! And special thanks to you, CalifJim. You always manage to make things so clear and easy to understand. If only I had someone as good as you are when I was a student!
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