Would -politeness

Question

I don't get it. Is 'would' or 'will' correct here? If 'will' is wrong, how come the conditional rule doesn't work here?

1. If they can give me an ineterview, that would be nice. (How is 'would' used here?)

2 . If they can give me an ineterview, that will be nice.

Thanks.

Eimai_Anglos · Accepted Answer

QUOTE: 1. If they can give me an ineterview, that would be nice. (How is 'would' used here?)

"Would" is used to express doubt.

"If they can give me an interview, that would be nice, but they probably can't."

Jack112 · Answer

Eimai_AnglosQUOTE: 1. If they can give me an ineterview, that would be nice. (How is 'would' used here?) "Would" is used to express doubt. "If they can give me an interview, that would be nice, but they probably can't."

So 'would' is not a conditional here?

Mister Micawber · Answer

As you know, Jack, I don't like mixed conditionals. I can only accept #2 of your original sentences, and offer the other option of--

'If they could give me an answer, it would be nice'.

MrPedantic · Answer

Jack112I don't get it. Is 'would' or 'will' correct here? If 'will' is wrong, how come the conditional rule doesn't work here?

1. If they can give me an ineterview, that would be nice. (How is 'would' used here?)

2 . If they can give me an ineterview, that will be nice.

Thanks.

Hello Jack

Another alternative is:

3. If they gave me an interview, it would be nice.

'It' seems more idiomatic than 'that', after a comma. With 'that', a dash or ellipsis would be more usual, to show that the pronoun referred to the whole preceding phrase:

4. If only they can give me an interview...Now that would be nice!

It may help, in terms of the 'rules' for conditionals, if you look at the meaning of the sentence first. The 'rules' work best with genuinely conditional IF statements, where one thing leads to another, e.g.

5. If X happened, Y would happen.

6. If X happens, Y will happen.

Here, the point of the statement is the fact that Y is a consequence of X.

In your IF statement #1, however, the main clause is a comment on the IF clause. You can't say that the IF clause is a condition of the main clause; instead, the main clause describes the possible event in the IF clause – it would be 'nice'.

In such cases, the 'rules' don't necessarily apply.

MrP

MrPedantic · Answer

PS

By ellipsis, I mean:

1. If they can give me an interview, (I may have a chance of getting the job). Now that would be nice.

MrP

Would -politeness

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