Which condition

Question

The officer is talking a case that the supposed murderer actually didn't kill the victim. instead, the victim dead of a congenital abnormality.

If our murderer thought he killed the victim, he was very wrong.

What condition is it? 1 or 2 or 0 condition? or something else?
Why there is no word would there?

Thanks,

Ench

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

It's something else. You can have
IF [past], [past].
CJ

Enchanted · Answer

CJ:
thanks!
"How would I know?"
Is this some kind of condition? if it is, what is it?
Ench

CalifJim · Answer

EnchantedIs this some kind of condition?

No. It's not a condition. It's a question.
A condition is a clause that starts with "if" or a synonym of "if". Conditions almost never contain "would".
You may be confusing a condition with a conditional sentence.
How would I know? asks, however, "Under what conditions (=How) would it be possible for me to know?"
The assumed answer is "There are no conditions under which you would know."
Therefore, How would I know? is like saying "I don't know. Why do you expect me to know? There is no reason for you to think that I know."
It's a bit rude to say it.
CJ

Enchanted · Answer

CJ:
So you are saying it is a conditional sentence? right?
I've alway been confused with a hypothetical conditional sentence without a if, especially those without conditional clause.
After i read your this post, my understanding it is that it is a hypothetic present conditional without an if, instead "under what condition" is used, correct me if i am wrong.

Thanks
Ench.

CalifJim · Answer

EnchantedSo you are saying it is a conditional sentence? right?

No. To me, it's just a question that contains the word would.
Be careful with answers you get from me and from any other members of any forum. Your textbooks may have terminology that does not conform to the terminology you see here.
My thought is that it's not a conditional sentence if it doesn't have an if clause, but it seems that your book, or maybe somebody you've talked to about this, doesn't use that definition.
You say you are confused about a hypothetical conditional sentence without if, and I'm not sure what that is. I'm confused too. Is that a sentence with would, but without an if clause? If so, then that's what "How would I know?" is.

I guess I don't understand the terminological category structure that you are trying to place this sentence in.
Are there supposed to be
1. conditional sentences with if clauses

2. conditional sentences without if clauses
3. hypothetical sentences with if clauses
4. hypothetical sentences without if clauses
5. hypothetical conditional sentences with if clauses

6. hypothetical conditional sentences without if clauses
7. non-conditional sentences with if clauses
8. non-conditional sentences without if clauses
9, 10, 11, 12, .... ???

What are all these things? My understanding is that you have a list like this and you are trying to place "How would I know?" into one of these categories. I am unable to help you put "How would I know?" into one of these categories because I don't know which categories you are using. Is there any kind of list like this in the books you are using? It seems that every book has a different set of categories.
I hope this makes sense.

CJ

CalifJim · Answer

Enchantedmy understanding it is that it is a hypothetic present conditional without an if, instead "under what condition" is used, correct me if i am wrong.

The "how?" is equivalent to "under what condition(s)?", so the condition is implied by the word "How?" That's more or less what I was saying.
It's like saying,
*I would know if what? [This is how to say it using the word if.]
But that sentence is not grammatical, of course.
How would I know? or Under what conditions would I know?
are grammatical sentences that say the same thing.
You could also have
If what were true, would I know?
but that's so awkward that it's only borderline grammatical. Still, this last sentence is a "Second Conditional", so if that's what you were looking for -- the underlying or impliedconditional sentence -- then there you have it.

CJ

Enchanted · Answer

Jim:
Thanks, it's very helpful. I think i need some materials to read about conditions. Do you have any good links?
Have a blessed evening.

Ench

CalifJim · Answer

I don't have any links to recommend, but if you use Google, you should be able to find quite a few. You might Google
English grammar conditional
and see what links you get.
CJ

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