In Conditionals^x, Tenses^x

In formal writing pepole use past simple tense.But i have seen many times books and other articles includes sentenceswhich have been made of "would"...I know that "would" is used in conditional clauses.Where as i realy want to know what are the situations where i can use...

Does it have to be in past tense like "if I gave some money, I wouldn't be able t buy a gift for my niece (this evening)"? No, it doesn't. I am uneasy about what to do with the time phrase "this evening". It doesn't seem to go well with the previous "past...

Hi, I think I have used a sentence similar to the underlined one in a similar context as the one below to ask a question. Yesterday, I was in an open-air restaurant with some friends at a table. I saw a pan handler coming in. The management or waiters didn't see him. He was asking for money....

Hi, Another way to look at 'I was . . . ' is to consider that it is Simple Past tense. If your listener is influenced by the grammar they are hearing from you, they will expect a past-related statement, eg "If Tom was a millionaire . . . he certainly didn't tell me when I met...

Hi :) I am typing a formal letter and I am confused as to which tense I should use: "We look forward to receiving your confirmation that the application is / has been withdrawn." I am also confused about the structure - is it considered some kind of reported speech, or conditionals,...

It is possible and correct. This is not a true passive. interested is normally treated as a plain adjective, not as a part of a verb. The verb here is therefore be (in the past perfect tense, had been ). The job is the agent if you treat this as a passive form of the verb to interest . But as...

This is just a negative of a standard type 2 conditional. I would sell it to you if it shot straight . This construct is used where fulfilment of the if clause is improbable or impossible, but still current. By the way it is not past tense, its imperfect subjunctive, although the two are...

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...