Go Back   UsingEnglish.com ESL Forum > English ESL Questions > Advanced


Poll: If he is such a good doctor,...
Be advised that this is a public poll: other users can see the choice(s) you selected.
Poll Options
If he is such a good doctor,...

Like Tree8Likes

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #11  
Old 05-Jul-2004, 10:39
Christopher
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default

If he is such a good doctor he would have diagnesed the illness, because if he wasn't he may have not known anything about that sort of illness.
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 07-Jul-2004, 00:26
RonBee's Avatar
Moderator
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 16,539
Home Country: United States
Native Language: American English
Current Location: United States
Member Type: Other
Default

Welcome to our friendly forum!

Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 07-Jul-2004, 00:26
RonBee's Avatar
Moderator
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 16,539
Home Country: United States
Native Language: American English
Current Location: United States
Member Type: Other
Default

Welcome to our friendly forum!

Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old 27-Apr-2005, 20:58
sylvia philobos
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Smile Re: Really Mixed Conditionals

if he were/ had been such a good doctor, he would have diagnosed the disease.

this means that he is not a good doctor that is why he could not diagnose the disease.
this is correct if you want to follow the rule. However I think the one with should makes sense because that is what is expected from a good doctor.

Last edited by sylvia philobos; 27-Apr-2005 at 21:00.
Reply With Quote
  #15  
Old 19-Jun-2005, 07:38
Newbie
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 3
Default Re: Really Mixed Conditionals

Quote:
Originally Posted by sylvia philobos
if he were/ had been such a good doctor, he would have diagnosed the disease.

this means that he is not a good doctor that is why he could not diagnose the disease.
this is correct if you want to follow the rule. However I think the one with should makes sense because that is what is expected from a good doctor.
So.... what is the final verdict? I was more comfortable with no.1, but after reading all your comments, I'm not sure anymore!!

I think the sentence 'if he had been a good doctor, he would have dignosed the disease' is used in a different situation, an even that happened in a more distant past. It's sort of like talking about a past event, isn't it? e.g. Mary has been suffering from anorexia all these years. She went to see Dr Death last year, and if he had been a good doctor, he would have diagnosed the disease.

Whereas the original question 'if he is/were a good doctor, he should have diagnosed the disease' sounds more like something that just happened recently....

someone... please enlighten me.

Oh, and I'm also a new member. Nice to meet you all!

neurobotanist
Reply With Quote
  #16  
Old 19-Jun-2005, 17:38
Editor, UsingEnglish.com
Threadstarter  
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Posts: 34,371
Home Country: UK
Native Language: British English
Current Location: Philippines
Member Type: English Teacher
Default Re: Really Mixed Conditionals

If he is such a good doctor, he should have diagnosed the illness- This is the one I'd use, where he didn't diagnose the illness, but the question about his medical ability is current.
Reply With Quote
  #17  
Old 12-Apr-2006, 09:21
Isra's Avatar
Newbie
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 26
Member Type: Student or Learner
Default Re: Really Mixed Conditionals

So, the right answer is the one 1
What a pity!
Reply With Quote
  #18  
Old 13-Apr-2006, 07:20
Editor, UsingEnglish.com
Threadstarter  
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Posts: 34,371
Home Country: UK
Native Language: British English
Current Location: Philippines
Member Type: English Teacher
Default Re: Really Mixed Conditionals

It's a rare and very mixed conditional.
Reply With Quote
  #19  
Old 21-May-2006, 10:28
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 56
Home Country: Scotland
Native Language: English
Current Location: Germany
Member Type: English Teacher
Default Re: Really Mixed Conditionals

Both imply that the man is not a very good doctor. (I'm good at stating the obvious )

I think that "He should have" is more critical of the man's abilities than "He would have", that though may be due to my Glasgow dialect.

Last edited by Hamburg; 21-May-2006 at 10:36.
Reply With Quote
  #20  
Old 08-Jun-2006, 12:28
Newbie
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 1
Smile Re: Really Mixed Conditionals

Hi, I'm new here. I agree with Iain (good Scottish spelling!) that were (or was) would be more usual in the 'if' part, because we obviously have our doubts. To me 'If he is such a good doctor' is more likely to lead into a question than a conditional; i.e. 'If he is such a good doctor, why didn't he diagnose the illness?' But I can't say that either sounds totally wrong.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Tags
conditionals, conditional, mixed


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Conditionals Anonymous Ask a Teacher 10 07-Feb-2007 10:01
sentence transformation + mixed conditional hela Ask a Teacher 1 12-Apr-2004 19:59
Mixed Conditionals Red5 General Language Discussions 1 18-Nov-2003 02:34
Conditionals abrilsp Ask a Teacher 1 05-Nov-2003 04:41
Mixed conditionals Anonymous Ask a Teacher 1 08-Oct-2003 22:28


All times are GMT. The time now is 07:51.



Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO ©2011, Crawlability, Inc.