would you be happy

[carla guaraldi]

Hi there,

"were you to join the committee, we would be happy.'
"would you be jealous if you were here."
I would like to know if these two ways of using the second conditional are correct.
I mean the use of were you to..
and inverted position of would.
Thank you

[5jj]

The simple answer is: yes

The were you to join construction strikes me as a little formal/old-fashioned, but is still acceptable.

Slightly less stuffy would be: If you were to join.

I suspect that most people today would say: If you joined.

If you would join is also possible. For some AmE speakers this is a simple alternative to: If you joined. For others, and for many BrE speakers, this construction would imply: If you were willing to join.

In your second example, the would you be construction is possible only if you are asking a question - and you therefore need a question mark at the end of the written version.