Tenses in sentences with more than two verbs
1. I´ve spent a fortune on swimming lessons. Next month I will have been training for three years and I don´t think I _______________(can) dive successfully when I go to Mexico this summer.
2. If I thought that somebody was in my house, I would call the police and I _________ (not confront) the intruder.
What tenses should be used in the blank spaces above? I know conditionals and future perfect pretty well but I always have a problem when there are more than two verbs in a sentence. So my question is what tense should be used in any conditional or a future perfect sentence when there are more than two verbs just as in the examples above?
Top answer
Modal verbs are degenerate and have only two forms. In sentence 1, you have the choice of can/could. Since it is referring to a future event which is not hypothetical, but real, "can" is my choice.
- Modal verbs are degenerate and have only two forms.
- In sentence 1, you have the choice of can/could.
- Since it is referring to a future event which is not hypothetical, but real, "can" is my choice.
- The second is a conditional, so the verb phrases in the main clause are"would call" and "would not confront".
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
Modal verbs are degenerate and have only two forms. In sentence 1, you have the choice of can/could. Since it is referring to a future event which is not hypothetical, but real, "can" is my choice.
The second is a conditional, so the verb phrases in the main clause are"would call" and "would not confront".
0
Related Questions