Inchoateknowledge  +  252671 Sat, 05 Aug 06 11:20 AM I would have come if only you had rung me. Can if only be used this way? Strange. Or does this sentence mean other than it was my wish you rang me because than I could have come, which/what  I wanted so much. 2nd question: which or what? Inchoateknowledge Joined on Wed, May 3 2006 Senior Member 2,549 Beep! Beep! :)

	Marius Hancu  +  252693 Sat, 05 Aug 06 12:17 PM I would have come if only you had rung me. This is correct, but it means something else: You just had to call me, and I would have come. (But you didn't call.) or in a modified version of your interpretation: I wish you had rung me, then I would have come. (You didn't call.) Or in other words: The only condition for my arrival was that you had called me. Marius Hancu Joined on Wed, Apr 26 2006 Veteran Member 11,673

	Inchoateknowledge  +  252718 Sat, 05 Aug 06 01:07 PM  Pastsimple wrote: Answer to the second question: definitely which. What doesn't make sense here at all. What I must do is write a letter (correct) = Write a letter is what I must do (correct) = I could have come, what  I wanted so much. I see analogy between the two examples. Inchoateknowledge Analogies

	Cool Breeze  +  252796 Sat, 05 Aug 06 05:05 PM  Inchoateknowledge wrote:  Pastsimple wrote: Answer to the second question: definitely which. What doesn't make sense here at all. What I must do is write a letter (correct) = Write a letter is what I must do (correct) = I could have come, what  I wanted so much. I see analogy between the two examples. Hi Inchoateknowledge What I must do is write a letter. (OK) What I must do is to write a letter.  (OK) Write a letter is what I must do. (wrong) To write a letter is what I must do. (OK, very formal) Writing a letter is what I must do. (OK) I could have come, which I wanted so much. (The antecedent is the entire main clause.) Both the full infinitive (to hear) and the gerund (hearing) can be the subject of a clause: To hear him sing is an unforgettable experience. Hearing him sing is... People usually say it with a preparatory it: It's an unforgettable experience to hear him sing. Cheers CB Cool Breeze Joined on Fri, Apr 7 2006 Senior Member 3,979 "I hope you'll all live to be 150 years old - and the last voice you hear is mine!" Frank Sinatra on stage in Oslo, Norway, 28 September 1991 Clauses, Gerunds, Analogies