Re: the baby couldn't survive

Marius Hancu — Sat, 17 May 2008 10:49:12 GMT

I don't think the original is quite correct. Try, in past time:

Were it not for the doctor's urgent operation, the baby couldn't have survived.

or, even better, showing more clearly the sequence of actions:

Had it not BEEN for the doctor's urgent operation, the baby couldn't have survived.

Forget about classifications (conditional 1, etc).

Learn the correct ones by listening to their flow.

We have a contrary-to-fact situation in the above, and that normally requires "have" in the 2nd part.

the baby couldn't survive

New2grammar — Sat, 17 May 2008 04:52:36 GMT

Were it not for the doctor's urgent operation, the baby couldn't survive

I borrowed this sentence from Angliholic.

One thing that bothers me about this sentence is I would never use it in Conditional #2. Instead, Conditional #3 would be perfect.

Had it not for the doctor's urgent operation, the baby couldn't have survived.

I wonder in what context, the Conditional #2 would be used. Could you provide me with one?

Thanks in advance!