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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

'Would' (Non-committal) with 'If' Clause (Indicative)

It would probably be better if you talk to him.

I understand 'will', instead of 'would', is the more common for the above structure because of the first conditional form. I wonder if we can express being non-committal with 'would' while suggesting the likelihood of "talking to him" in indicative mood by using present tense in the if clause.

Is it possible? That is combining 'would' (non-committal) with an indicative mood of the if clause?
  

Top answer

Could someone please advise on this? If my example sentence is not possible, how do I improve it? What I wanted to express is I'm not sure if it is really better, but the condition is likely to happen.

— Anonymous

  • Could someone please advise on this?
  • If my example sentence is not possible, how do I improve it?
  • What I wanted to express is I'm not sure if it is really better, but the condition is likely to happen.
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10 Answers
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Could someone please advise on this?

If my example sentence is not possible, how do I improve it? What I wanted to express is I'm not sure if it is really better, but the condition is likely to happen.
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AnonymousIt would probably be better if you talk to him.I understand 'will', instead of 'would', is the more common for the above structure because of the first conditional form. I wonder if we can express being non-committal with 'would' while suggesting the likelihood of "talking to him" in indicative mood by using present tense in the if clause.Is it possible? That i
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I see the 'would be better' is like the idiom 'would like', therefore 'talk' or 'talked' in the if clause is OK. Thank you for your explanation.

By the way, I understand there is no 'will like' for 'would like', but is there 'will be better' for 'would be better'?
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I have another example below, but this time, not an idiomatic phrase like 'would be better'. Again, do you think we can combine non-committal 'would' with an if-clause in indicative mood here to show likeliness of 'talking' to him?

He would understand if you talk to him.
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Anonymousdo you think we can combine non-committal 'would' with an if-clause in indicative mood here to show likeliness of 'talking' to him?
No, and now I wonder if I may have misunderstood your original question.

Putting would with understand shows something about the likeliness of understanding, not of talking. You put would
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You've understood correctly my original question. Sorry for the confusion, though, about my prior question.
CalifJimHere's what you need:

He would understand if you talked to him.
I understand this is the normal structure, but I wonder if it is possible to have a main clause in subjunctive mood, whereas the 'if' clause is in indicative mood, meaning t
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Anonymousa main clause in subjunctive mood
would never forms a subjunctive, so even if you use would, you are not using the subjunctive mood. The combination of would and another verb is sometimes called the "conditional mood", however.
AnonymousI wonder if it is possible to have a main clause in subjunctive mood,
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Thank you, CJ. I see it is not reasonable to say this and would just probably create confusion to the listener.

With the same sentence I gave previously, if I'm not sure about him understanding, I should say the following:


He would understand...

But if I'm sure, but not 100% certain, I can say the following:

He will understand...
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Anonymousnot 100% certain, I can say the following:

He will understand...

Would you agree?
He will understand if you talk to him.

Yes. 100% OK.

CJ
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OK, thank you, CJ. I appreciate it. Emotion: smile
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