Quote:
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Originally Posted by MrPedantic I'm not so sure:
When a fool has made up his mind the market has gone by.
- Proverb, (Spanish)
When a large vessel has opened a way it is easy for a small one to follow.
- Proverb, (Chinese)
When a man has fallen into the mire, the more he flounders the more he fouls himself.
- Proverb, (Italian)
When a mouse has fallen into a meal sack, he thinks he is the miller himself.
- Proverb, (Dutch)
When a musician hath forgotten his note,
He makes as though a crumb stuck in his throat.
- Proverb
MrP |
Those things are true only if they
have happened. A zero conditional can be true even if something doesn't actually happen. So, I still say a zero conditional requires the simple present in order to express a universal truth.
If A happens, then B happens. This is true even if it has never happened, and even if it will never happen.