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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
The usage of provided
I would greatly appraciate it if someone could explain why the following sentence is grammatically incorrect (according to the answer key in a CAE coursebook) ?
Provided that you found some of his DNA, it`s still unlikely that you could clone William Shakespeare.
The only explanation I have found so far is that "provided" is usually used in 1st type conditionals. Is that the case or is there yet another rule ?
Provided that you found some of his DNA, it`s still unlikely that you could clone William Shakespeare.
The only explanation I have found so far is that "provided" is usually used in 1st type conditionals. Is that the case or is there yet another rule ?
Top answer
Finding some of his DNA is not a condition for the clone being unlikely . It is unlikely that I could clone William Shakespeare, since/because/provided I found some of his DNA. (absurd) But it could be a condition for the possibility of cloning.
- Finding some of his DNA is not a condition for the clone being unlikely .
- It is unlikely that I could clone William Shakespeare, since/because/provided I found some of his DNA.
- (absurd) But it could be a condition for the possibility of cloning.
- Provided that you found some of his DNA, you might be able to clone William Shakespeare.
- I'm not sure I'd call your original example grammatically incorrect.
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3 Answers
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Finding some of his DNA is not a condition for the clone being unlikely.
It is unlikely that I could clone William Shakespeare, since/because/provided I found some of his DNA. (absurd)
But it could be a condition for the possibility of cloning.
Provided that you found some of his DNA, you might be able to clone William Shakespeare.
It is unlikely that I could clone William Shakespeare, since/because/provided I found some of his DNA. (absurd)
But it could be a condition for the possibility of cloning.
Provided that you found some of his DNA, you might be able to clone William Shakespeare.
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AnonymousProvided that you found some of his DNA, it`s still unlikely that you could clone William Shakespeare.I have the same sense of it as Avangi. In general, it's an ability to do something that is associated with the contents of a provided clause -- not the inability.
Provided you stand on tip-toe, you can reach the top shelf.
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Many thanks to both of you, your explanations made it all clear !
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