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Diamondrg Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

simple past

The manager had us over a barrel - either we worked on a Saturday or we lost our jobs. (Longman)

Would "... - either we would work on a Saturday or we would lose our jobs" be correct too? Is it common to use simple past this way, to express a condition?

In the new version, they have changed "worked - lost" to "work - lose". I wonder why.

  

Top answer

>Longman Is this is site (pls post the URL) or the printed dictionary?

— Marius Hancu

  • >Longman Is this is site (pls post the URL) or the printed dictionary?
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7 Answers
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>Longman

Is this is site (pls post the URL) or the printed dictionary?
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Marius Hancu>Longman

Is this is site (pls post the URL) or the printed dictionary?
printed dictionary 1995 edition, also the latest one http://pewebdic2.cw.idm.fr/

headword: barrel (n)
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I see "worked" and "lost" as a sort of reported zero conditional.

The manager's direct speech in the past may have been this:
"Either you work on a Saturday or you lose your jobs."

The meaning is this:
"You have two choices. If you work on a Saturday, you don't lose your jobs. If you don't work on a Saturday, you lose your jobs."
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The zero conditional is a structure used for talking about general truths -- things which always happen under certain conditions.

The first conditional (also called conditional type 1) is a structure used for talking about possibilities in the present or in the future.
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Yankee is right with the reference to indirect speech, this alternative of the original sentence would be correct based on indirect speech:

INDIRECT: The manager said/told us that either we worked on a Saturday or we lost our jobs.
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Thank you, Yankee, Marius and Teo.
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