If he was lucky he'd find a cab there...

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Jackson6612

#503456 Mon, 21 Apr 08 05:36 PM

If he was lucky he'd find a cab there, though at this time of night they weren't frequent.

What could possibly the context for the above sentence? I would have used ''were'' in place of ''was'' because whatever is being said is somewhat hypothetical.

Jackson6612

Joined on Wed, Dec 27 2006

Senior Member (2,952)

NOTE: When you reply to my post, please look for mistakes in grammar, syntax or punctuation, and let me know of any suggestions you have. Thank you.

Avangi

#503462 Mon, 21 Apr 08 06:00 PM

Hi Jackson,

"He" is in some location, possibly unable to find transportation. Actually, "frequency" in this context is usually applied to busses. One usually calls by telephone for a taxi cab, unless one is in the city at a busy time, and can "hail" a passing cab which is unoccupied. In a remote area late at night, if he's "lucky" enough to see a cab passing by, it will most likely be occupied.

The subjunctive seems to be optional these days in this sort of sentence.

Edit. Looking at the word "there," I suspect there's some context preceding this, in which he conceives a plan to walk to some other location, where he hopes to have better luck.

P.S. a suggestion on your question: a different word order, plus the verb "be" - "What could the context for the above sentence possibly be?"

Best regards, - A.

Avangi

Joined on Mon, Nov 19 2007

Senior Member (3,289)

". . . le plaisir delicieux et toujours nouveau d'une occupation inutile." - Henri de Regnier

Regards, Verbs, Word order, Subjunctives

Yoong Liat

#503470 Mon, 21 Apr 08 06:32 PM

Jackson6612
If he was lucky he'd find a cab there, though at this time of night they weren't frequent.

What could possibly the context for the above sentence? I would have used ''were'' in place of ''was'' because whatever is being said is somewhat hypothetical.

'Were' is usually used hypothetically. However, I've read in English usage books that 'was' can also be used.

If I were/was a king ...

It's like the sentence: The teacher said that the world is round.

It's not wrong if you say The teacher said that the world was round. (said and was are both past tense)

However, the 'is' and 'were' versions are more commonly used.

Yoong Liat

Joined on Mon, Sep 4 2006

Singapore

Veteran Member (6,006)

Yoong Liat

Tenses, Past tenses

Kooyeen

#503553 Mon, 21 Apr 08 10:19 PM

That "was" sounds like a simple past tense to me. John wanted to go away at once. He thought getting to Lincoln street would be a good idea. If he was lucky, he would find a cab there...
Smile

Kooyeen

Joined on Thu, Dec 22 2005

Italy

Senior Member (3,972)

If you don't have a sense of humor already, it's about time you buy one.

Tenses, Simple past, Past tenses

Avangi

#503594 Mon, 21 Apr 08 11:19 PM

If I were a bear I wouldn't say that.

Edit. Sorry. I believe you're right. "If it rained he would get wet." (If it were to rain he would get wet. If he were to be lucky, he would find a cab there . . . )

Avangi

MrPedantic

#503602 Mon, 21 Apr 08 11:41 PM

Jackson ran all the way to Piccadilly Circus. If he was lucky he'd find a cab there, though at this time of night they weren't very frequent.

i.e. a reported version of:

Jackson ran all the way to Piccadilly Circus. "If I'm lucky," he thought, "I'll find a cab there; though at this time of night they aren't very frequent."

MrP

MrPedantic

Joined on Tue, Oct 12 2004

Veteran Member (12,052)

...opella forensis / adducit febris...

Anonymous

#503611 Tue, 22 Apr 08 12:14 AM

Also possible, if you change "this" to "that":

Every night he went out for a drink, missed the last train, and then had to run all the way to Piccadilly Circus. If he was lucky, he would find a cab there; though they weren't very frequent at that time of night.

Here, "if" = "whenever".

("If he were lucky" would be a case of "hypercorrection", i.e. incorrect.)

MrP