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0  Hi, I was looking at the article titled "U.S. chides Seoul for beef backslide" on its Saturday, May 17th, 2008 edition of the JoongAng Daily and have these questions on some sentences it had:      Washington , on the other hand, is demanding that Korea fully open its markets t U.S. beef before it considers the trade deal.        The U.S. commerce secretary said that if the FTA is ratified, it would create jobs in Korea and the U.S.and give consumers in both countries more choices.    Rewriting those again:   Washington , on the other hand, is demanding that Korea fully open its markets t U.S. beef before it considers the trade deal. -- I feel "before it starts to consider" is better. Wrong?         The U.S. commerce secretary said that if the FTA is ratified, it would create jobs in Korea and the U.S.and give consumers in both countries more choices. -- Is this the right first conditional??    Also, if I put 'then' before the main clause, what, if any, difference would (will??) it make? Would your anaswer it apply to all conditioanl sentences?   .... If the FTA is ratified, (then??) it would create jobs in Korea and ...     0-

Avangi · Accepted Answer

0I believe "considers" is understood to be a process of some duration, having a beginning and an end. (Of course, we may say they are 01i01u00still considering02u02i00.) If on Monday they are not considering it, and on Tuesday they are, then Tuesday is when it started.02br
02br
01i00You'll have to copy this messy paper over again before I read it.02i00 It's not necessary to say "before I 01b01i01u00start02u02i02b00 reading it."02br
02br
00Re. your second question, In my opinion, "then" is understood, and it's presence would not help to clarify the sentence, nor would it make any difference in the meaning or the sense. It is therefore better omitted. As far as first- and second-class conditionals are concerned, I'm like GG.02br
02br
00 - A.02br
02br
00Edit. Re. "considering," sometimes in formal talks we say an item for consideration is "still on the table," meaning it may not be currently under discussion, but it's still an "open" topic. In you example, Washington is refusing to "put the FTA on the table," or "bring it to the table." i.e., consideration itself becomes a bargaining chip. "We may never ratify FTA, but if you don't let our beef come in without restrictions, we won't even 01b01i01u00consider02u02i02b00 FTA."0-

CalifJim · Answer

0 01blockquote

01cite10Anonymous12cite10I feel "before it starts to consider" is better.12blockquote

10 No. It's not better. It's possible, but has more words than necessary.01blockquote

01cite10Anonymous12cite10Is this the right first conditional?12blockquote

10 It's not any of the named conditionals. It's mixed. Here is the sentence twice, once in the first conditional, once in the second.02br
01i00The U.S. commerce secretary says that if the FTA is ratified, (then) it will create jobs in Korea and the U.S.and give consumers ... 02br
02i02br
01i00The U.S. commerce secretary said that if the FTA were ratified, (then) it would create jobs in Korea and the U.S.and give consumers ...02i02br
02br
00The word 01i00then02i00, in parentheses, can be included, but it is normally omitted.02br
00CJ 0-

Marius Hancu · Answer

0See these links on conditionals: 02br
02br
05002br
0510230hrefhttp://www.englishpage.com/conditional/mixedconditional.html231hrefhttp://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verbs-conditional_3.htm

New2grammar · Answer

0The U.S. commerce secretary said that if the FTA is ratified, it would create jobs in Korea and the U.S.and give consumers in both countries more choices. 02br
02br
00I couldn't find this mixed conditional in any of the classical conditionals provided by MH.02br
02br
00What's the different between the original and if the FTA WERE ratified, it would create jobs in Korea and the U.S.and give consumers in both countries more choices?02br
02br
00For some reason this special mixed conditional doesn't always work, for example02br
02br
00If I'01b00m02b00 rich, I would donate a million to CJ (To me, this is very wrong!)0-

CalifJim · Answer

0 01blockquote

01cite10New2grammar12cite10If I'11b10m12b10 rich, I would donate a million to CJ12blockquote

10In this case, the grammar doesn't matter. Please send the money immediately!!! 05002br
00CJ010id1

CalifJim · Answer

0 01blockquote

01cite10New2grammar12cite10What's the 11font11del~~10different12del~~10 difference12font10 between the original and if the FTA WERE ratified, it would create jobs in Korea and the U.S.and give consumers in both countries more choices?12blockquote

10 No difference in meaning. Our native speaker brains can be quite impervious to such differences.01blockquote

01cite10New2grammar12cite10For some reason this special mixed conditional doesn't always work, for example12br
12br
10If I'11b10m12b10 rich, I would donate a million to CJ (To me, this is very wrong!)12br
12blockquote

10 There is always more trouble with the verb 01i00to be02i00 in conditional structures, in my opinion, so yes, it is very wrong.02br
00CJ 0-

New2grammar · Answer

0HAHAHA... Thank you, CJ! You have to wait until I'm rich 050010id4

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