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Alc24 Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

"TO HAPPEN" optional?

Is this sentence grammatical with "to happen" in it?

1 If there were to happen to be one, he would probably buy it.

THank you
  

Top answer

If there were to happen to be one, he would probably buy it. I've never heard it. ) It's probably grammatical, but a native speaker would not use it (I don't believe), because the verb "to happen" already includes the subjunctive sense, in this case.

— Avangi

  • If there were to happen to be one, he would probably buy it.
  • I've never heard it.
  • ) It's probably grammatical, but a native speaker would not use it (I don't believe), because the verb "to happen" already includes the subjunctive sense, in this case.
  • If there happened to be one, he would probably buy it.
  • If he were to find one, he would probably buy it.
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1 Answers
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If there were to happen to be one, he would probably buy it.

I've never heard it. (It has a redundant sound to it.)

It's probably grammatical, but a native speaker would not use it (I don't believe), because the verb "to happen" already includes the subjunctive sense, in this case.

If there happened to be one,
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