Thought was real / think is real

Question

I read a somewhat philosophical essay. One of the things that the writer pondered was titled:
"What if you'd wake up from what you thought was real life?"

Is that sentence in the correct tense? Shouldn't it be:
"What if you'd wake up from what you think is real life?"

Are the both versions correct/logical and if so, is there some semantic difference between the two?

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

Actually, both seem wrong. I would expect these:

What if you woke up from what you thought was real life?-- Hypothesis about reality.

What if you wake up from what you think is real life?-- Assurance that this life is unreal.

Or perhaps this:

What if you were to wake up from what you thought was real life?-- Hypothesis about reality.

Harrison81 · Answer

Mister MicawberActually, both seem wrong.

Really? Could you explain a little more specifically? Perhaps I'm wrong, but to me:
"What if you'd (you could) wake up from what you think is real life",
sounds grammatically correct.

Mister Micawber · Answer

You'd is not a contraction for 'you could'. It is a contraction for 'you would' or 'you had' only. Those don't work in this sentence.

Harrison81 · Answer

Okay, I didn't know that. I have always thought that it can mean either would, could, should or had.

But even with "you would", I still can't notice anything terribly wrong in the sentence:
'What if you would wake up from what you think is real life'

Sorry, I'm a little hardheaded

. Thank you for being so patient!

Mister Micawber · Answer

'Would' does not appear in the 'if' clause in careful writing; it appears in the main clause:

If I went to Tokyo, I would certainly visit Akihabara.
I would buy you an ice cream cone if you took me to Disneyland.

Thought was real / think is real

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions