In Clauses^x, Dialects^x

> "If he should have done that, he will be punished badly".Using should/would in the if clause is not standard English these days. It was used centuries ago, and it might still be used in here and there dialect speech, but not in educated formal English. Try:Had he done that, he...

Oh my, I'm so surprised! I would never have thought you said it yourself! By the way, you said "If I'd have known", and not "If I'd known" (which can't mean "If I would have known", because you would be leaving out a syllable...).Anyway, I'll tell...

I know that in certain areas people use "if" and "would" in the same subordinate clause. I'd just be interested to know if there are some dialects who use "would" in realis (condition 1) sentences. As a German I hear that from time to time in my native...

We have a rule, let's call it Rule W:if clauses—the traditional rules. According to traditional rules, you use the subjunctive to describe an occurrence that you have presupposed to be contrary to fact: if I were ten years younger, if America were still a British Colony. The verb in the main...

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-------- as Function:pronoun 1 a : THAT, WHO, WHICH -- used to introduce an adjectival clause and having same or such as antecedent <their children should grow up in the same intellectual culture as they have enjoyed -- G.B.Jeffery> <tears such as angels weep burst forth...

Thank you for having pointed this out: In English, the past is often used instead of the past perfect, so there is a reading of that if clause in which was can be taken to mean had been, thus indicating the past meaning that I think you are talking about, but that creates an ambiguity, so I did...

Inchoateknowledge wrote:'This is the watch as I lost' -- this sentence is false.No, it is dialect. In some dialects as = that ------- as : THAT -- used to introduce a noun clause and now dialect except in certain negative expressions with know, say, or see that have wide usage in...

MrPedantic wrote: What are we to make of the fact that adult native speakers often "self-prescriptivise"? Example: "Oh, hello, MrP. MissQ was just telling Randy and me – Randy and I – about L1 acquisition." MrP I read your question wrong... oops. Um, I think that does not resemble...

1. She phoned to ascertain whether he were dining at the club. 2. He looked at me as if he suspected I were cheating on him. 3. If he were surprised, he didn't show it. Only my opinion; but I would call these three examples incorrect in standard English. (Some rural BrE dialects use "were"...