Thank you, Tam, for the effort you made to try to let me understand this structure.
However ...
 Tam Sadek wrote: |
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Perhaps this example using the Past Perfect/Past Simple will make it clearer. "We arrived late because our plane had been delayed" versus "We arrived late because our plane was delayed" Now most grammar books usually only accept the first sentence as being 'correct'. However, in speech there is nothing wrong with the second either as it is clear from the context (i.e. we are all standing at the airport, etc) that as we have just arrived, our plane must have been delayed before the 'arriving' part. These don't lend themselves to written English very well as of course without specific context there could be a misunderstanding.
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The use of Past Simple instead of Past Perfect is quite common, explained also in many grammar books and usually accepted if the sequence is clear. I don't find anything wrong in it, but I don't think it can be applied to YL's first sentence (conditional sentences have their own rules, don't they?).
| Tam Sadek wrote: |
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That's why although we use mixed conditionals frequently in contextualised speech face-to-face, when people write they'll revert to one of the standard written acceptable conditionals. Remember though that these four written forms do not convey the same connotation. Consider the following: Standard First Conditional: If she comes, I'll leave... Sounds fairly neutral and is not emotional charged. Alternate First Conditional: If she's coming, I'm leaving! Suddenly we have the feeling that the speaker is much more emotional and conveying a sense of annoyance or anger. Remember... It's all about context and that's why they're more frequent when there is context - i.e. a natural conversation rather than a decontextualised grammar activity. Hope that helps...
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Does your sentence imply that mixed conditionals are unaccettable in standard written English? I don't think so! Some structures, such as the ones in my previous post:
If I had won the lottery, I would be rich
If I didn't trust her, I wouldn't have told her the whole story (*)
would be considered fine in English written tests (both Cambridge and TOEFL) and in formal academic writing (if we eliminate contractions in the second one).
Can I infer from your post that the original stentence:
If I knew Mary was coming, I would have gone to the the airport to welcome her
is ok for you only in colloquial speech, but ungrammatical and unaccettable in standard written English?
Any replies, comments, suggestions ... would be highly appreciated!
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(*) Here Past Simple deoesn't replace Past Perfect! I told her the whole story because I trusted her and I still trust her.