In Conditionals^x, Clauses^x

You will see it and hear it from time to time, but the canonical form is with the if-clause in the past, as Mr. M. has illustrated above.CJ

They are all correct. For lengthier discussions with lots of examples of the use of the past perfect tense after before, see Re: before past perfect tense , past tense and Re: Past Simple or Past Perfect. This is a common pattern for expressing "interruptive relationships" between...

Some uses: Would functions as a more formal and more polite alternative to will. Would can refer to typical habitual actions and events in the past and often occurs in narratives: Would rather and would sooner are used to talk about preference and/or alternatives. Would versus Should: Should...

This question is very difficult. In fact, all questions which ask for a complete list of all possible cases of anything are very difficult. People can give you a list of the usages they can think of, but there's never a guarantee that it's a list of all possibilities. A textbook or...

Hi,Please tell me if we could have the modal 'would' after an if-clause in present tense.If you make some cookies, I should/would be happy/delighted.

Yes. Your backshift interpretation seems right to me. But I don't see this as necessarily subjunctive. It comes off as a sort of borderline case to my ear.CJ PS. ... would have baked you a cake is the usual expression!

Thank you so much CB, I'm taking them all in now. But, In the one sentence you crossed out the word "had", I was taught it had to be present to differentiate the order of occuraces or actions taken place in a sentence that has more than 1 clause. Let me expand on it by ways of...

This is my take:The use of "would rather" is not restricted by time. In certain aspects, it contains a conditional element as well. Here is some info. Hope that helps your question.<EDITED by mod to credit your source.>

Hi, Is it a good sentence (I didn't write it): Honestly I believe, I even could've listened to the worst bands or artists, if I'd be missing something from my homeland. I'm wondering why the author used: ...could've listened.. I would write:I even could listen to the .. Then...

I don't really know exactly why I said "wrong" in one place and "awkward" in another! Your question in the other thread seemed to focus on mixed conditionals, and I didn't want to leave you with the impression that all mixed conditionals are wrong. Maybe that's...