By Conditionals, Constructions

Hi all,Thanks in advance for your help in answering this question. I'm trying to explain to a non-native English speaker that a certain usage is either incorrect or awkward, but I find myself unable to do so. At this point, I'm just confusing myself in trying to explain it.So her...

I'm not aware of any classification of the as if constructions into first, second, and third. From what I've seen, they can parallel the first, second, and third conditionals in their tense patterns, but usage is much more free. That is, they don't always conform strictly to those...

Hi,Should a delay exist ... = If a delay should exist ... (which means: we consider the existence of a delay very unlikely; however, if this delay existed ...)It's not a question, but a conditional sentence where subject and verb are inverted and "if" is dropped. It's a formal /...

Hi,... and somebody says it's subjunctive. See also:http://www.englishforums.com/English/ChangingTenses/dqcdx/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/WhichSentencesAreCorrect/zjbhp/post.htm

Kooyeen, do you say "have gone play" or "have gone playing"? In this case, I think the common expression is "have gone golfing".What do you think?By the way, I was told to use your construction, conditional 3 even though the event was scheduled for sometime in the...

MarvinTheMartian wrote: I can't make up my mind which tense to use in the following sentence: "If it hadn't been for the remarkable opening passage, I would have assumed that the recital would be / have been a bore. I've seen both tenses used in similar constructions. Is it safe to assume...

Devrim55 wrote:If we ...........ready for the YDS exam decently, we .........at least two and a half hours a day for reading questions. a)were to get / should have spared b)got / would have spared c)are to get / had spared d)have gotten / would spare e)have to get / must have spared thanks...

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry. Was that supposed to help? Hi Anon,Post:459692 should give you a quick summary for conditional usages. It does address the paring of four conditional constructions. If you still have a problem, please let us know.

Anonymous wrote: What is the tense of this sentence,is it talkig about past or not?plz explain for me... If Maria succeeded, then everyone would sit up and take notice thanks alot This could be interpreted to refer to something that happened several times in the past (if = when; would =...

Newbie2007 wrote: Quangtn03 wrote: Hi newbie."I wish you will have..." is a true conditional sentence. I think this is a letter so the writer have a wish for his friend.The latter is "I wish you will be happy", not "I wish be happy". He write for friend not for himself. Are you ok? Tell me what...