0
Usenet Posted 22 years ago
Usage
Past perfect in irealis past time: behaved as if she had been going to
Hello:
As mentioned in the related post just put up, I wasn't able to find grammatical prescriptions wrt the use of the past subjunctive using "were" in phrases describing hypothetical situations in past *time* (as opposed to tense), even if such examples exist on the Web and in the literature.
However, I *was* able to find plenty of grammatical prescriptions indicating the use of past perfect tense in similar phrases.
E.g. Swan, in Practical English Usage, mentions wrt "if(3): special tense use", p. 248:
To talk about past situations that did not happen, we use a past perfect tense ("had + past participle") in the if-clause, and "would have + past participle" in the other part of the sentence:
If you had asked me, I would have told you.
(NOT: If you would have asked me ...
(NOT: If you asked me ...
(NOT: I had told you ...
If you had worked harder, you would have passed your exam. I'd have been in bad trouble, if Jane hadn't helped me.
Examples following the above prescriptions are many on the net:
According to the contemporary pamphlet: ?The whole way, as she went to the place of execution, she behaved herself so cheerfully, as if she had been going to her wedding, and not to her death. (Domestic Annals of Scotland Reign of James VI. 1591 - 1603 Part E) http://www.electricscotland.com/history/domestic/vol1ch8e.htm
Anne brought an immense quantity of finery five perfectly new bonnets besides that she wore on board, & scarves, handkerchiefs & shawls as if she had been going to Calcutta.
(41.MacLeod, Letitia's Letters, p. 247; see also P.A.C., Letitia to her mother, 14 Dec. 1851, Hargrave Corres., vol. 27.)
http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/transactions/3/sarahballenden.shtml#41
So I stopped at the pet store on the way home and bought a fleece-lined foam bed for her. When Bob got home, we took it upstairs, and found her lying in the middle of the hallway, on the other side of the baby gate, as if she had been going to come downstairs to eat, and when she got to the gate it was just too much to take and she laid down there, exhausted.
(Willa's Journal, by Willa Cline)
http://www.willa.com/journal/oct97/oct13.htm
"Oh, dear!" the girl said; and then, as if she had been going to continue, she stopped.
(Fennel and Rue, by W. D. Howells)
http://library.floresca.net/390-2.html
and one can see there are both quite old (cca 1500) and more recent examples, which IMO indicates a remarkable stability in the language.
Should I assume that as a result of this a more "correct" version of:
A crash of panic went through her. Suddenly Adair felt as if she were going to die in the next moment.
(Paulette Jiles, Enemy Women)
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/GMA/Books/GMA020711EnemyWomen.html
would be:
A crash of panic went through her. Suddenly Adair felt as if she had been going to die in the next moment.
?
Thank you.
Marius Hancu
As mentioned in the related post just put up, I wasn't able to find grammatical prescriptions wrt the use of the past subjunctive using "were" in phrases describing hypothetical situations in past *time* (as opposed to tense), even if such examples exist on the Web and in the literature.
However, I *was* able to find plenty of grammatical prescriptions indicating the use of past perfect tense in similar phrases.
E.g. Swan, in Practical English Usage, mentions wrt "if(3): special tense use", p. 248:
To talk about past situations that did not happen, we use a past perfect tense ("had + past participle") in the if-clause, and "would have + past participle" in the other part of the sentence:
If you had asked me, I would have told you.
(NOT: If you would have asked me ...
(NOT: If you asked me ...
(NOT: I had told you ...
If you had worked harder, you would have passed your exam. I'd have been in bad trouble, if Jane hadn't helped me.
Examples following the above prescriptions are many on the net:
According to the contemporary pamphlet: ?The whole way, as she went to the place of execution, she behaved herself so cheerfully, as if she had been going to her wedding, and not to her death. (Domestic Annals of Scotland Reign of James VI. 1591 - 1603 Part E) http://www.electricscotland.com/history/domestic/vol1ch8e.htm
Anne brought an immense quantity of finery five perfectly new bonnets besides that she wore on board, & scarves, handkerchiefs & shawls as if she had been going to Calcutta.
(41.MacLeod, Letitia's Letters, p. 247; see also P.A.C., Letitia to her mother, 14 Dec. 1851, Hargrave Corres., vol. 27.)
http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/transactions/3/sarahballenden.shtml#41
So I stopped at the pet store on the way home and bought a fleece-lined foam bed for her. When Bob got home, we took it upstairs, and found her lying in the middle of the hallway, on the other side of the baby gate, as if she had been going to come downstairs to eat, and when she got to the gate it was just too much to take and she laid down there, exhausted.
(Willa's Journal, by Willa Cline)
http://www.willa.com/journal/oct97/oct13.htm
"Oh, dear!" the girl said; and then, as if she had been going to continue, she stopped.
(Fennel and Rue, by W. D. Howells)
http://library.floresca.net/390-2.html
and one can see there are both quite old (cca 1500) and more recent examples, which IMO indicates a remarkable stability in the language.
Should I assume that as a result of this a more "correct" version of:
A crash of panic went through her. Suddenly Adair felt as if she were going to die in the next moment.
(Paulette Jiles, Enemy Women)
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/GMA/Books/GMA020711EnemyWomen.html
would be:
A crash of panic went through her. Suddenly Adair felt as if she had been going to die in the next moment.
?
Thank you.
Marius Hancu
Top answer
[nq:1]Hello: As mentioned in the related post just put up, I wasn't able to find grammatical prescriptions wrt the use ... Adair felt as if she had been going to die in the next moment. Thank you.
- [nq:1]Hello: As mentioned in the related post just put up, I wasn't able to find grammatical prescriptions wrt the use ...
- Adair felt as if she had been going to die in the next moment.
- Thank you.
- Marius Hancu[/nq] No.
- In that sentence, what the author is telling us is that at the time she had the feeling, she felt a certain way.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
2 Answers
0
[nq:1]Hello: As mentioned in the related post just put up, I wasn't able to find grammatical prescriptions wrt the use ... Adair felt as if she had been going to die in the next moment. ? Thank you. Marius Hancu[/nq]
No.
In that sentence, what the author is telling us is that at the time she had the feeling, she felt a certain way. She didn't feel as if she "had been" going to die; she fel
No.
In that sentence, what the author is telling us is that at the time she had the feeling, she felt a certain way. She didn't feel as if she "had been" going to die; she fel
00
[nq:2]Should I assume that as a result of this a ... had been going to die in the next moment. [/nq]
[nq:1]No. In that sentence, what the author is telling us is that at the time she had the feeling, she felt a certain way. She didn't feel as if she "had been" going to die; she felt as if she "were" going to die.[/nq]
OK, got you.
[nq:1]Here's something to compare it with: "When she wa
[nq:1]No. In that sentence, what the author is telling us is that at the time she had the feeling, she felt a certain way. She didn't feel as if she "had been" going to die; she felt as if she "were" going to die.[/nq]
OK, got you.
[nq:1]Here's something to compare it with: "When she wa
0
Related Questions