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Anonymous Posted 10 years ago
Grammar

Sentence choice

Which is correct?

If it had not been for us, the business would have been shut down a long time ago.

It it had not been for us, the business would have shut down a long time ago.

Thanks.
  

Top answer

Anonymous Which is correct? Both are correct. The first one means that the business would have been shut down by some other party (the government?

— Xerxes

  • Anonymous Which is correct?
  • Both are correct.
  • The first one means that the business would have been shut down by some other party (the government?
  • ).
  • The second one means that the business would have had to shut itself down (close/bankruptcy).
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4 Answers
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AnonymousWhich is correct?
Both are correct.

The first one means that the business would have been shut down by some other party (the government? The tax police?). The second one means that the business would have had to shut itself down (close/bankruptcy).
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Xerxes AnonymousWhich is correct?Both are correct.The first one means that the business would have been shut down by some other party (the government? The tax police?). The second one means that the business would have had to shut itself down (close/bankruptcy).
I see. Thanks a lot. But the use of 'been' in other 3rd conditional sentences can function differen
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Yes. In 'would have been shut down', we have a passive construction. In 'would have been a problem' we have an active construction.
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fivejedjonYes. In 'would have been shut down', we have a passive construction. In 'would have been a problem' we have an active construction.
I see, thanks teacher. So is 'would have shut down' an active construction?
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