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Tenjing Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

what is the difference in meaning?

A. If my parents were rich, I would have gone to college.
B. If my parents had been rich, I would have gone to college.
what's the difference in meaning?
  

Top answer

(B) is correct. (A) is not very well formed. After "If my parents were rich", we expect "I would go to college".

— GPY

  • (B) is correct.
  • (A) is not very well formed.
  • After "If my parents were rich", we expect "I would go to college".
  • Edit: Sorry, on second thoughts, I suppose "If my parents were rich (now / in general), I would have gone to college (in the past)" may be a valid thing to say..
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15 Answers
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(B) is correct. (A) is not very well formed. After "If my parents were rich", we expect "I would go to college".

Edit: Sorry, on second thoughts, I suppose "If my parents were rich (now / in general), I would have gone to college (in the past)" may be a valid thing to say..
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I think the second one means my parents weren't rich and they are still not rich, am I right? And the first one means my parents are no longer alive or they are rich now, right?
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enjingI think the second one means my parents weren't rich and they are still not rich, am I right?
It implies that they weren't rich then. It does not say anything definite about whether they are rich now.
tenjing And the first one means my parents are no longer alive or they are rich now, right?
It implies that they a
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The first one also means they weren't rich, right?
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How? You mean they were rich? I didn't go to college because my weren't rich, right?
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I am not clear. Please, could some help me out? My thought is that if the formation of the sentences is different then, the meaning is supposed to be different. This is what I have been trying to know. So, I want to know what the exactly difference is. I know the correct form is,'If my parents had been rich, I would have gone to college' BUT I have seen people using this form,'If my parents were
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tenjing How? You mean they were rich? I didn't go to college because my weren't rich, right?
In this context, "If my parents were rich" is talking about their present condition, or condition generally. (It is only in unusual situations, where "if" means something close "when", that it could be talking about the past.)
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tenjing'If my parents were rich, I would have gone to college'. The first one is about the past and the second is also about the past. Please help me out, I am too confused.
Per my original reply, this sentence can be justified as talking about the general (present and always) condition of your parents. "were" is NOT ordinary past tense. It is an "unreal" tens
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I agree 'were' is not the past here BUT the second part(I would have gone to college) is past,right? This is my confusion.
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