0
Samuraigirl Posted 11 years ago
Grammar
Subjunctive 2?
Hi guys, thank you always.
---------------
Why does anything happen? That’s a complicated question to answer, but it is a more sensible question than “Why do bad things happen?” This is because there is no reason to single out bad things for special attention unless bad things happen more often than we (1)would expect them to, by chance; or unless we think there should be a kind of natural justice, which (2)would mean that bad things only happen to bad people. Do bad things happen more often than we (3)ought to expect by chance alone?
----------
(1) Why is ‘would’ used here? Is it suggesting we don’t really expect bad things to happen by chance alone? Can’t we say just ‘we expect them to’?
(2) Does this ‘would’ mean that ‘natural justice’ don’t actually exist?
Is ‘which would mean that …’ a hypothetic explanation?
(3) Why is ‘ought to’ put here? Why can’t we say just ‘we expect’?
Does it mean it is natural we expect them happen by chance alone?
---------------
Why does anything happen? That’s a complicated question to answer, but it is a more sensible question than “Why do bad things happen?” This is because there is no reason to single out bad things for special attention unless bad things happen more often than we (1)would expect them to, by chance; or unless we think there should be a kind of natural justice, which (2)would mean that bad things only happen to bad people. Do bad things happen more often than we (3)ought to expect by chance alone?
----------
(1) Why is ‘would’ used here? Is it suggesting we don’t really expect bad things to happen by chance alone? Can’t we say just ‘we expect them to’?
(2) Does this ‘would’ mean that ‘natural justice’ don’t actually exist?
Is ‘which would mean that …’ a hypothetic explanation?
(3) Why is ‘ought to’ put here? Why can’t we say just ‘we expect’?
Does it mean it is natural we expect them happen by chance alone?
Top answer
unless bad things happen more often than we (1)would expect them to, The tone here is that the frequency of our expectations can be very definite, specific, quantifiable and measurable. unless bad things happen more often than we (1)would / might expect them to, The tone here is that the frequency of our expectations is not quantifiable and measurable, but rather variable and unpredictable in character. ------------------------------------------------- we think there should be a kind of natural justice, which (2) would mean that bad things only happen to bad people.
- unless bad things happen more often than we (1)would expect them to, The tone here is that the frequency of our expectations can be very definite, specific, quantifiable and measurable.
- unless bad things happen more often than we (1)would / might expect them to, The tone here is that the frequency of our expectations is not quantifiable and measurable, but rather variable and unpredictable in character.
- ------------------------------------------------- we think there should be a kind of natural justice, which (2) would mean that bad things only happen to bad people.
- "would mean" = implies we think there should be a kind of natural justice, which means that bad things only happen to bad people.
- "means" = it definitely follows, it proves ----------------------------------------------- Do bad things happen more often than we (3)ought to expect by chance alone?
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
2 Answers
0
unless bad things happen more often than we (1)would expect them to, The tone here is that the frequency of our expectations can be very definite, specific, quantifiable and measurable.
unless bad things happen more often than we (1)would / might expect them to, The tone here is that the frequency of our expectations is not quantifiable and measurable, but r
unless bad things happen more often than we (1)would / might expect them to, The tone here is that the frequency of our expectations is not quantifiable and measurable, but r
00
samuraigirlunless bad things happen more often than we (1)would expect them to, by chancewould is used to mean might. unless ... more often than (maybe / perhaps) we expect them to, by chance.
samuraigirlwe think there should be a kind of natural justice, which (2)would mean that bad things only happen to bad people.
0
Related Questions