In Conditionals^x, Tenses^x, Simple past^x

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 him...

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!

Interesting! You never taught me those conditionals! Does that mean that in English (like in Italian), it is possible to use the simple past instead of the subjunctive formed with the past perfect, in informal and casual English? The only example I know it's kind of common is substituting...

Here are some Present - Past pairs:Simple present - Simple past (Future of the Past -- (with would)-- is also called "Conditional".)(Progressive is also called Continuous.) Caution: Not all discussions of tense use the same names for the tenses. CJ

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...

I am taking her to the movie. continuous / progressive present or present continuous / progressive He will be working for your father's law firm. future continuous / progressive I took the test and passed! simple past She has taken the medicine for her cold. perfect He had been living...

Is it possible to use "provided that" for sentences in the simple past? If it is possible, do we have to use the sentence with both verbs in the same tense? I know it works as a conditional sentence but it sounds strange to me in the past. How could I complete the following...

Hi AvangiTo me, the word 'if' is used like 'whenever' in your sentence, and the word 'will' is used to indicate a habitual or repeated action (i.e. in that sentence, you are saying it is not your habit to wonder about things such as closed doors while you are on vacation)....

conditional sentences are four types: the first is called probable condition in the future like if i see you at the party tomorrow, i will give the prize. if we meet in the conference hall tonight, we will take a group photo. the second is an unreal condition, or contrary to the fact condition or...

Hi Manisha,When we would like to relate a failure in the past to an ongoing activity that is still considered unfulfilled today, we can use a mixed conditional statement in which one relates a present unreal condition (i.e. verb in the simple past - TYPE II conditional ) to a past unreal /...