0
Anonymous Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

Sentence question

Are these sentences correct:
If I wanted to go I would ask you. (Is will here possible instead of would?).
If I want to go I will ask you. (Is would here possible instead of will?).

I am assuming they are not possible, but I would like your confirmation.
  

Top answer

The first sentence is in the past and should reflect that: If I (had) wanted to go, I would have asked you. ) The second sentence is in the future, so the wording is correct as is. If the question was in the present, then you could use "would": If I were wanting to go, I would ask you.

— Doctor D

  • The first sentence is in the past and should reflect that: If I (had) wanted to go, I would have asked you.
  • ) The second sentence is in the future, so the wording is correct as is.
  • If the question was in the present, then you could use "would": If I were wanting to go, I would ask you.
  • ) Also, don't forget the comma between the introductory IF clause and the rest of the sentence.
  • Does this help?
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

27 Answers
0
The first sentence is in the past and should reflect that:
If I (had) wanted to go, I would have asked you. (So, no, "will" is not possible.)

The second sentence is in the future, so the wording is correct as is.

If the question was in the present, then you could use "would":
If I were wanting to go, I would ask you. (But I am not.)

Also, don't fo
0
0
Doctor DThe first sentence is in the past and should reflect that:If I (had) wanted to go, I would have asked you. (So, no, "will" is not possible.)The second sentence is in the future, so the wording is correct as is.If the question was in the present, then you could use "would":If I were wanting to go, I would ask you. (But I am not.)Also, don't forget the comma between
0
0
All of these are theoretical, IF clauses. Also, it is somewhat difficult to determine if they are past or present.
However, this form is clearly present: If I were wanting to go, I would ask you. (But I am not wanting to go.).

Here are your three sentences:
If I want to go I will ask you. [Future. If I decide to go, I will ask you.]
If I wanted to go I would ask yo
0
0
Doctor DIf I wanted to go I would ask you. ["If I wanted to go" is in the past. "I would ask you" is the future. So this wording is wrong.]
I find that I have to disagree very strongly on this point. This is a standard "second conditional" pattern.

IF [past], ... WOULD ....

— What would you do if your car broke down and you wanted to go
0
0
Yes, vagueness is a definite problem here. I did not interpret "I would ask you" in the sense "to accompany me." I thought of it as "I would ask you" in the sense of "for permission."

However, I still think that the "If(past)/would" is wrongly worded.
So I would recast your sentence to put them both in the past:
If I wanted to go (and get groceries), I would have asked you (to d
0
0
Doctor DSo I would recast your sentence to put them both in the past:If I wanted to go (and get groceries), I would have asked you (to drive me there).
Strange. I thought the set-up made it quite clear that the situation was not about the past at all, but about a possible future. It's more like "What would you do if you won a million dollars?" Thus, "What w
0
0
Yes, I agree with you CJ. The sentence may be vague, but the conditionals are quite clear. I think that Doctor is mixing conditional 2 and 3 in one sentence.
0
0
This whole discussion is so wandering that it is hard to tell what sentence anyone is talking about.

However, let us take CJ's If [past],...WOULD ... example.

— What would you do if your car broke down and you wanted to go and get groceries?
— If I wanted to go (and get groceries), I would ask you (if you could drive me there).
0
0
Doctor DThe second conditional form [past] would be:If I was wanting to go (and get groceries), I would ask you (if you could drive me there).
Sounds regional to me, and not my region.
0
0
Doctor DIf I wanted to go I would ask you. ["If I wanted to go" is in the past. "I would ask you" is the future. So this wording is wrong.]
Sorry, Doctor D, but you are simply wrong.

We use a past-tense form in the so-called second conditional but, depending on context, we are talking about a future-time hypothetical or a present-
0

Related Questions