In Modals^x, Conditionals^x, Constructions^x

Hi, I think would as a modal verb is multi-faceted ??and two among many of its functions are 1) to express a polite supplication or 2) to express what might have happened if something had occurred. Which of the two would you say is in use here? Is this a Type 2 Conditional? 1. It would...

Let's spread out the issue a little bit: ____ O ____ Type 2. Basic forms . a. If we caught the 10 o'clock train, we would (could, might, etc.) get there by lunch-time. b. If I came into a fortune, I would give up smoking. c. If I knew how it worked, I could...

Hi Bokeh, Becasue of your reply, it made me take a second look at the original question. I also did some research and found this paper written on the subject of Semantic Composition of Subjunctive Conditionals by Michela Ippolito of MIT/Tübingen University. I am not completely sure if I...

Anonymous wrote: I have seen similar putative sentences. "I am suprised that he should feel lonely."(1) "I am suprised that he feels lonely." I don't remember the exact sentences in Quirk's "A Comprehensive English Grammar". I wonder if the first sentence can be written as "I will be suprised...

Thanks for your reply, MrP. 1. I would call it an exclamatory conditional. The main clause is left unspoken, but we can usually infer it, e.g. "if only she would contact me, I would be very happy". Ok, it’s a conditional with an unexpressed result but still a ‘conditional’ right? In...

1. 'If only she would contact me'. This sentence uses 'if' but there's only one clause so what type of sentence is this? You wouldn't call it a conditional, would you? 2. The above sentence is about a wish and therefore we don't use 'will'. Also, in other such sentences we use the simple...

When we talk about a subjunctive construction, I think it is easier to understand it without the 'inserted clause, I would think' becasue that way one can clearly see the cause-and-effect relationship beteween the conditional clause and the main clasue. 1. If someone tells you that you...

CGEL: And should is not used at all with past time meaning. Introduction to the Grammar of English - one of the series "Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics" - by Rodney Huddleston: The past tense of shall is should , and this occurs as the counterpart of shall in the backshifting and...

JT: Casi, if you're at the grocery store and you utter, "I wish I was at home", how can this be, I quote, "actually possible; factual"? Casi: Uhm, . . . let me think. . . Ah! Here we are: one can make it possible by actually going home? Was that a trick question, JTT. With...

Mr P: The distinction is clear, and has nothing to do with {teeth on edge} 'inclusiveness': Let us have no more touchy-feely grammar. JT: I allowed that it might, Mr P. I didn't state that it did. You may want to adress this issue with Casi. But before you do that, consider that grammatical...