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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

Questions with "if"

Can I say

If I would have there, I would have helped.
  

Top answer

No. "

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  • No.
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6 Answers
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No. You may mean:

"If I had been there, I would have helped."
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Yes. Unfortunately, many native speakers (at least, AmE speakers) are now using 'would' in the 'if'-clause as well ('If I would have been there, I would have..'), so we may be forced to accept this as good English in the future, but NOT NOW!
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Mister MicawberYes.

Did you misread?

"If I would have there..."
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No, I was correcting from the impossible to the all-too-common and then commenting. My 'yes' was my agreement with your remark.
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Mister MicawberMy 'yes' was my agreement with your remark.
Oh, I see. I thought your "yes" was in answer to "Can I say?"
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Mister MicawberUnfortunately, many native speakers (at least, AmE speakers) are now using 'would' in the 'if'-clause as well ('If I would have been there, I would have..'),
I hear constructions like "If I'd have been there..." quite a lot. I remember another thread where we were discussing whether "I'd" was a contraction of "I would" or "I had". I thin
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