By Commas, Conditionals

I don't know the answer, anon. But I note that the phrase often takes inverted commas, which suggests that people aren't altogether comfortable with the phrase. So here's a wild guess, to bump your thread up: Once upon a time, grammarians talked about three kinds of conditional if-statement:...

Jack112 wrote: I don't get it. Is 'would' or 'will' correct here? If 'will' is wrong, how come the conditional rule doesn't work here? 1. If they can give me an ineterview, that would be nice. (How is 'would' used here?) 2 . If they can give me an ineterview, that will be...

I too would subscribe to the 'blather'/'mixed-up conditional' theory. The speaker confidently strides through his IF clause; finds himself on the brink of the crashingly anticlimactic 'it will be a good thing'; steps quickly back from the comma; reaches for a woolly 'would' clause instead....

I too would subscribe to the 'blather'/'mixed-up conditional' theory. The speaker confidently strides through his IF clause; finds himself on the brink of the crashingly anticlimactic 'it will be a good thing'; steps quickly back from the comma; reaches for a woolly 'would' clause instead....

Dear Mr Pedantic, Sorry for this long delay. This doesn't mean that I am not eager to do these exercises, I am indeed! It's only that sometimes I have a lot of homework to do. Here are my answers: SHOULD I confess that I sometimes looked AT the door with a half-expectant wish to see IT open and...

Hi Miriam, Thank you for the time and effort to respond to my questions. > Generally I agree with your comments above. Where I might differ is where you wrote, "I think it is a good idea to use commas at the beginning and the end of it to separate it from the main sentence (the two main...

Hello, MountainHiker I hope I can help you here. Some commas are required, some others seem to be optional. Sentence #1 I'm not sure I like either, but the 'corrected' version seems better. I, however, will suggest yet a third option: "Mr. Johnston and his son have applied for a patent in the...

It is the other way round. We use a comma if we start the sentence with the conditional clause. You will pass if you study. If you study, you will pass.

Please tell me how we use commas in conditional sentences.Do we use comma if start with the main clause. You wil pass,if you study. is it correct?

This is the original poster, walansari@hotmail.com. Thank you all for responding. Yes, 4 should not have had a question mark. But you all lost track of my original question. And I think I figured this one out. But before I congratulate myself on genius, please tell me this makes sense. The...