type 2 or 3

Question

A lawyer is questioning a sex abused child.

Lawyer: What would happen to you if you wouldn't dance in this room?

Child: I wouldn't get fed and Booger Red would hang me.

1. Is the use of would hypothetical (Type 2 Conditional) in the lawyer's question? If so, could we use (Type 3 conditional - would have happened...you wouldn't have danced)

2. Is would in the child's statement the past of will?
Thanks in advance.

Marius Hancu · Accepted Answer

1) hypothetical in present/future
would have happened...you wouldn't have danced [only for the past

2) No, it's a conditional/hypothetical device,

New2grammar · Answer

New2grammarLawyer: What would happen to you if you wouldn't dance in this room?

Can I say "What would happen to you if you DIDN'T dance in this room?"? If it's OK, what's the difference?

Marius Hancu · Answer

"What would happen to you if you DIDN'T dance in this room?"
This is better, in fact. Some sources frown at would/should after if, i.e. in the condition.
47 on "if you didn't dance"
0 on "if you wouldn't dance"

New2grammar · Answer

Thank you, MH.

Marius Hancu · Answer

Read CalifJim here:

CalifJim · Answer

New2grammarLawyer: What would happen to you if you wouldn't dance in this room?

Child: I wouldn't get fed and Booger Red would hang me.

1. Is the use of would hypothetical (Type 2 Conditional) in the lawyer's question?

No, nor is it hypothetical in the child's response -- or perhaps it's semi-hypothetical. The situation suggests that the refusal to dance and its consequences actually happened. if is thus nearly equivalent to when in this context.

Here you have four cases of the will / would "of habit". The second case of would (wouldn't dance) also doubles as the will not / would not "of refusal".
What would happen ... ? = What [usually / normally / habitually / always] happened ... ?
if you wouldn't dance = if you would refuse to dance = if you refused (on any given occasion) to dance
I wouldn't get fed = I was not fed (on those occasions of refusal)
would hang ... as above
All of these are cases of would as the past of will. Here are the same patterns with will.

What will happen if you won't dance? I won't get fed and B.R. will hang me.
CJ

New2grammar · Answer

CJ. So, basically the question brought readers back to a point in the past where abuse was still taking place. It seems like it's very similar to the category you called "detective tense"?

"If he did kill the woman, he would have ...."

Thanks.

type 2 or 3

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