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Lucas21c Posted 10 years ago
Grammar

The subjunctive mood

Could you confirm whether both of the following sentences are right? Thank you in advance.

1. If you can speak Chinese, please help me to understand this mail sent by my Chinese buyer.
2. If you could speak Chinese, please help me to understand this mail sent by my Chinese buyer.
  

Top answer

lucas21c Could you confirm whether both of the following sentences are right? Only #1 is OK.

— Mister Micawber

  • lucas21c Could you confirm whether both of the following sentences are right?
  • Only #1 is OK.
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3 Answers
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lucas21cCould you confirm whether both of the following sentences are right?
Only #1 is OK.
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AnonymousIf you can speak Chinese, please help me to understand this email sent by my Chinese buyer.
Although it is a correct sentence grammatically, it just doesn't sound quite right to the ear in my opinion. Normally,
if a person needs help with a Chinese letter, and he by chance finds that you can speak Chinese, he
would say " You can speak Chinese?
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Anonymous it just doesn't sound quite right to the ear in my opinion.
It sounds OK to me.
Anonymous You can speak Chinese? Can you help me with this email from my Chinese buyer?"
That's OK, too.
Anonymous, I do think there is any subjunctive elements in this sentence.
No; it's just Conditi
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