Should vs if

Question

Hi, Are the following 2 sentences have the same meaning?Which one is better?Sentence1:If any additional opportunities for interviews become available, I would greatly appreciate the opportunity for an personal interview.Sentence2:Should any additional opportunities for interviews become available, I would greatly appreciate the opportunity for an personal interview.Is sentence 3 better?Sentence3:Should there are any  additional opportunities for interviews become available, I would  greatly appreciate the opportunity for an personal interview.Thanks

Dokterjokkebrok · Accepted Answer

Hi

Both if-clause constructions in sentence #1 and #2 are possible I think. The first sentence is a regular if-clause. The second one starts with a modal verb, which comes from the full construction 'If there should be any...'. That's OK, but they don't have similar same meanings. Should stresses the fact that the condition stated after it is less likely to happen than the condition/situation after 'if' in the first sentence. So by using 'should' here, you modify the sense of probability/likelihood.

I think there's another problem, however. Because you use a present tense finite verb, 'become', in the first sentence I think your second finite verb, which is 'would', ought to be 'will'. But I'm not 100% sure about that. Perhaps a teacher could confirm this.

The construction of 'should there are' in #3 is incorrect in my opinion, because 'should' can only be followed by an 'infinitive without to'. That's one reason. The other one is that it's impossible to use another verb there, because you cannot use two infinitives in that manner here: 'Should there be become. That doesn't seem right.

Also, it's 'a personal interview' not 'an'

Kind regards

Dokterjokkebrok

Should vs if

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