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PreciousJones Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

Past perfect

Please tell me what's the difference between these two sentences:

They wouldn't have given me a chance if they had known I was leaving tomorrow. And

They wouldn't have given me a chance if they knew I was leaving tomorrow.

Which sentence is the correct one and do they both have the same meaning?

THanks!
  

Top answer

Look carefully at the meaning and logic of your first clause: They wouldn't have given me a chance (if... leave where X is the point at which they do, or don't 'give me a chance. The logic is, that once 'the chance is given' it doesn't matter if they know.

— Terryxpress

  • Look carefully at the meaning and logic of your first clause: They wouldn't have given me a chance (if...
  • leave where X is the point at which they do, or don't 'give me a chance.
  • The logic is, that once 'the chance is given' it doesn't matter if they know.
  • As long as they DON'T know before 'they give me a chance'.
  • So we need the Past Perfect to place the 'don't know' prior to the point where they make the decision - do or don't give him a chance: If they had known prior to X, they wouldn't have decided at X 'to give me a chance'.
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8 Answers
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Look carefully at the meaning and logic of your first clause:
They wouldn't have given me a chance (if...

.......They DON'T know...>X
and
........They KNOW........>X<...NO...chance...........................NOW............leave
where X is the point at which they do, or don't 'give me a chance.

The logic is, that once 't
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Your first sentence has the correct form of Conditional III. #2 is often heard and said instead of #1 (tense simplification) but is generally considered incorrect English.

Also, "tomorrow" should be replaced with "the following day", if your "tomorrow" doesn't correspond to "the calender tomorrow".
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IvanhrYour first sentence has the correct form of Conditional III. #2 is often heard and said instead of #1 (tense simplification) but is generally considered incorrect English.Also, "tomorrow" should be replaced with "the following day", if your "tomorrow" doesn't correspond to "the calender tomorrow".
Why should tomorrow be replaced with the follow
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It only needs to be replaced if you left the day after they 'gave me a chance'.
As I understood your sentence, you are telling someone about these past circumstances, but that the actual day of your leaving, as far as you and the listener are concerned, is indeed 'tomorrow' - the day after NOW, the moment of speaking.
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They wouldn't have given me a chance if they had known I was leaving tomorrow.

If you say this sentence to me now, I would think that you're leaving on 13th April. (today is April, the 12th). If you are, then "tomorrow" is fine.
but
If your tomorrow is already in the past, then "the following day" makes more sense, to me anyway.
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IvanhrThey wouldn't have given me a chance if they had known I was leaving tomorrow.If you say this sentence to me now, I would think that you're leaving on 13th April. (today is April, the 12th). If you are, then "tomorrow" is fine.but If your tomorrow is already in the past, then "the following day" makes more sense, to me anyway.
Thank you both very much!
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Why is it often times I hear native speakers use:

They wouldn't have given me a chance if they knew I was leaving tomorrow.
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Just be glad you speak better English than they! Emotion: smile
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