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Fandorin Posted 18 years ago
Grammar
should... if..would
Hi there.
"We should be obliged if you would send us your catalogue".
I know it refers to Second Conditional and using "would" in if-clause emphasises the politeness of appealing. But... Is it possible for them to send catalogue or it's unreal (because the situation is unreal, the Second Conditional)? would send = sent?
"We shall/would/should be obliged if you will send us your receipts." Here "will" also describes politeness. Can I use any alternatives underlined? It refers to First Conditional, doesn't it? will send = send?
Thank in advance.
"We should be obliged if you would send us your catalogue".
I know it refers to Second Conditional and using "would" in if-clause emphasises the politeness of appealing. But... Is it possible for them to send catalogue or it's unreal (because the situation is unreal, the Second Conditional)? would send = sent?
"We shall/would/should be obliged if you will send us your receipts." Here "will" also describes politeness. Can I use any alternatives underlined? It refers to First Conditional, doesn't it? will send = send?
Thank in advance.
Top answer
Use would / would, because it is a polite request and refers to a possible future action. Should (ought to be) is not correct. Shall is used mainly in legal documents today.
- Use would / would, because it is a polite request and refers to a possible future action.
- Should (ought to be) is not correct.
- Shall is used mainly in legal documents today.
- It is not conditional.
- We would be obliged if you would send us your catalogue.
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5 Answers
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Use would / would, because it is a polite request and refers to a possible future action. Should (ought to be) is not correct. Shall is used mainly in legal documents today. It is not conditional.
We would be obliged if you would send us your catalogue.
We would be obliged if you sent us your catalogue. (less polite than the above, but that one might be interpreted as being a bit o
We would be obliged if you would send us your catalogue.
We would be obliged if you sent us your catalogue. (less polite than the above, but that one might be interpreted as being a bit o
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Thank you It's quite odd to call them Conditional, isn' it?
How could we distinguish those in time and possibility? Or all
It's quite odd to call them Conditional, isn' it?How could we distinguish those in time and possibility? Or all
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They are conditional, because the sender has the choice of sending the catalogue or not. Our appreciation is conditioned on what they do.
Would is future. The sentence says that we will be happy if they do send the catalogue. It does not say what we will feel if they do not send the catalogue.
Would is also used in a polite request for someone to do something in the future. The only oth
Would is future. The sentence says that we will be happy if they do send the catalogue. It does not say what we will feel if they do not send the catalogue.
Would is also used in a polite request for someone to do something in the future. The only oth
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