 Conditional
Dear teachers,
As usual, I'll ask many questions in one post but you can, of course, answer them at your convenience.
1) Would you please help me finish these clauses ?
a) If you were to give him a chance…
b) If you were to fail …
c) Would it be possible to use the indicative “If you ARE …” in the above clauses ? What difference would it make?
2) How can I make a polite request using “If + will or would”?
If you will / would ….
3) What do you call the mood/tense (?) that follows “would” in the following sentences ?
a) If the Queen died, she would BE SUCCEEDED by her son Charles. (Bare infinitive + past participle ?)
b) If I were rich I would BE LYING in the sun on a tropical island. (Bare infinitive + present participle ??)
c) If it had rained yesterday, there wouldn’t HAVE BEEN many people on the sea shore. (perfect infinitive)
d) If I had not got married, I would still HAVE BEEN LIVING abroad. (perfect infinitive + present participle ??)
4) If our documents had been in order we could have left at once. (“could” here expresses ability or permission or both ?)
5) Why do we use the subjunctive in one sentence and the indicative in the other ?
a) If I WERE riding a bicycle I would be much happier.
(difference with “If I WAS riding a bicycle…”?)
b) If my car WAS working I could / would drive you to the station. (difference with “my car WERE working…”?)
6) Do sentences a) + b) have the same meaning ?
a) If he had been able to see it clearly, he would remember it better. (now)
b) If he could see it clearly, he would remember it better.
c) If he had been able to see it clearly, he would have remembered it better. (then)
I don’t like these examples because their meaning is not clear, would you have better examples of this kind ?
7) a) Are the future and the conditional incompatible with the following expressions ?
unless, except if, provided/providing that, on condition that, as/so long as, suppose/supposing that, what if, in case, if only.
b) would you please give me examples with “except if”?
c) Is it true that “unless” cannot be used in Type 2 conditional and in indirect questions?
What about: “I would not attempt … (what can I say here ?) unless I were sure of succeeding.” ?
Thank you for your patience and understanding!
Best regards,
Hela  |