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Anonymous Posted 19 years ago
Grammar
Real/unreal conditional
0 Hello all, 02 br
00 I have come across a sentence which I cannot figure out: 'If the storm is moving as quickly as the meteorologists say, it should have been here by now.' 02 br
00 I can seen that it's a mixture of real and unreal constructions but I cannot understand the very idea of it. 'If' part refers to real condition and I guess it means that the storm is actually moving as predicted but the second part of the phrase refers to the unreal conditions, I guess. Thus, for me it means that the storm is not here and therefore it would imply that it is not moving as predicted...-I'm at a loss, please help. What is the actual meaning of this sentence? 0-
00 I have come across a sentence which I cannot figure out: 'If the storm is moving as quickly as the meteorologists say, it should have been here by now.' 02 br
00 I can seen that it's a mixture of real and unreal constructions but I cannot understand the very idea of it. 'If' part refers to real condition and I guess it means that the storm is actually moving as predicted but the second part of the phrase refers to the unreal conditions, I guess. Thus, for me it means that the storm is not here and therefore it would imply that it is not moving as predicted...-I'm at a loss, please help. What is the actual meaning of this sentence? 0-
Top answer
0 The 01 b 01 i 00 if 02 i 02 b 00 -clause does not refer to a real (=truthful) situation, it just refers to a real possibility. 0-
- 0 The 01 b 01 i 00 if 02 i 02 b 00 -clause does not refer to a real (=truthful) situation, it just refers to a real possibility.
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13 Answers
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0 The 01 b 01 i 00 if 02 i 02 b 00 -clause does not refer to a real (=truthful) situation, it just refers to a real possibility. The possibility has not been realized, however, because the storm has not arrived. 0-
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0 Then, how does it differ from sentence: 'If the storm was moving as quickly as the meteorologists say, it should have been here by now.' ? 0-
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0 I don't like the sentence. I would say: 'If the storm 01 b 00 is 02 b 00 moving as quickly as the meteorologists say, it should 01 b 00 be 02 b 00 here by now.' I wouldn't use a perfect conditional to refer to the present moment, at least not in this sentence. English grammar is messed up enough as it is without further attempts in that direction. 02 br
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0 01 blockquote
02 br
00 I would say: 01 i 00 If the storm 01 b 00 were 02 b 00 moving as quickly as the
01 cite 10 Bazil 12 cite 10 Then, how does it differ from sentence: 'If the storm was moving as quickly as the meteorologists say, it should have been here by now.' ? 12 blockquote10 Hi Bazil 02 br
02 br
00 I would say: 01 i 00 If the storm 01 b 00 were 02 b 00 moving as quickly as the
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0 Hi, 02 br
00 thanks for all replies. The thing is that I came across this strange sentence going through exercises for my English grammar examination and I'm almost sure that the sentence is correct ( though, probably, no native speaker would create such beauty 05 0 00 ). The task was to explain the meaning of the sentence (which now I think I get- thank you Mister Micawber) an
00 thanks for all replies. The thing is that I came across this strange sentence going through exercises for my English grammar examination and I'm almost sure that the sentence is correct ( though, probably, no native speaker would create such beauty 05 0 00 ). The task was to explain the meaning of the sentence (which now I think I get- thank you Mister Micawber) an
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0 My pick is: 02 br
02 br
01 i 00 'If the storm 01 b 00 were 02 b 00 moving as quickly as the meteorologists say, it 01 b 00 should have been here 02 b 00 by now.' 02 i 02 br
02 br
00 because it places more accent on the past in the 2nd part (we've been waiting for quite a while for it to be here), in a perfective
02 br
01 i 00 'If the storm 01 b 00 were 02 b 00 moving as quickly as the meteorologists say, it 01 b 00 should have been here 02 b 00 by now.' 02 i 02 br
02 br
00 because it places more accent on the past in the 2nd part (we've been waiting for quite a while for it to be here), in a perfective
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0 01 blockquote
00 The difference, in my opinion, is that the first sentence is ill-concei
00 The task was ... to tell the difference from the one in which you would use only unreal conditionals e.g. 'If the storm were moving as quickly as the meteorologists say, it would be here by now.' Any idea? 12 blockquote10 No idea whatsoever! 05 0 02 br
00 The difference, in my opinion, is that the first sentence is ill-concei
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0 Never mind the teachers, I'm simply curious about this exercise. It really set me thinking because there are more sentences like that e.g. 'If the yesterday race was fair, then he should have won.' (why not- If the yesterday race had been fair,...). English is really a harsh mistress 0-
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0 1. If X is happening, Y should have happened by now. 02 br
02 br
00 To my mind, the "if" in this structure expresses "accepting that", while the "should have" is epistemic, and expresses "less certainty" than the "has" in this version: 02 br
02 br
00 2. If X is happening, Y has happened. 02 br
02 br
00 If the speaker doesn't expect to witness Y, t
02 br
00 To my mind, the "if" in this structure expresses "accepting that", while the "should have" is epistemic, and expresses "less certainty" than the "has" in this version: 02 br
02 br
00 2. If X is happening, Y has happened. 02 br
02 br
00 If the speaker doesn't expect to witness Y, t
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0 Thanks a bunch MrPedantic. It's really hard to tell the difference when you are not a native speaker. Sometimes I don't 'feel' it but you cleared up my mind here. Now I'll have to chew on it. 02 br
00 Cheers 0-
00 Cheers 0-
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