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Anonymous Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

What kind of grammar is this?

I read Sherlock Holmes novel recently and I found this sentence:

"Had this test been invented, there are hundreds of men now walking the earth who would long ago have paid the penalty of their crimes."

What does this "Had this test been...bla..bla.." mean? What kind of grammar is that?
  

Top answer

Anonymous Had this test been = If this test had been You can remove "if" in a third conditional if you move "had" to the beginning. If you had been on time = Had you been on time If the bridge had not collapsed = Had the bridge not collapsed CJ

— CalifJim

  • Anonymous Had this test been = If this test had been You can remove "if" in a third conditional if you move "had" to the beginning.
  • If you had been on time = Had you been on time If the bridge had not collapsed = Had the bridge not collapsed CJ
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3 Answers
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AnonymousHad this test been
= If this test had been

You can remove "if" in a third conditional if you move "had" to the beginning.

If you had been on time = Had you been on time
If the bridge had not collapsed = Had the bridge not collapsed

CJ
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Thank you for your quick answer.

Oh, it's about third conditional. Is it only applied for 'had'?
What if the sentence doesn't have 'had' like this:

If I were you = Were I you

Is that also correct?
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AnonymousWhat if the sentence doesn't have 'had'
Obviously, if there is no "had", you can't move "had" to the beginning.
AnonymousIf I were you = Were I you
Correct, but this is not a third conditional. It's a second conditional.

In the second conditional you move "were" to the beginning — if "were" is there, of co
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