Results 1 to 4 of 4
Like Tree2Likes
  • 2 Post By emsr2d2

Thread: conditional sentence...very tricky..help please..

  1. #1
    rainous's Avatar
    rainous is offline Member
    • Member Info
      • Member Type:
      • Other
      • Native Language:
      • Galician
      • Home Country:
      • Armenia
      • Current Location:
      • Antilles
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Posts
    336

    Default conditional sentence...very tricky..help please..

    I wrote the sentence below and would appreciate any help I can get in correcting it
    if it's wrong in any way.

    Mainly, I want to know if I used the tenses right. (Did I have to use past voice instead?) and if there is any structural problem.

    "What are we supposed to do if the result doesn’t come out by August 15th and we have to wait a little longer after having disposed of or sold all our properties and terminated the rent contract thinking that we would have to leave the house by then? "


    Thanks

  2. #2
    emsr2d2 is offline VIP Member
    • Member Info
      • Member Type:
      • English Teacher
      • Native Language:
      • British English
      • Home Country:
      • UK
      • Current Location:
      • UK
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Posts
    8,997
    Teacher

    Default Re: conditional sentence...very tricky..help please..

    Quote Originally Posted by rainous View Post
    I wrote the sentence below and would appreciate any help I can get in correcting it
    if it's wrong in any way.

    Mainly, I want to know if I used the tenses right. (Did I have to use past voice instead?) and if there is any structural problem.

    "What are we supposed to do if the result doesn’t come out by August 15th and we have to wait a little longer after having disposed of or sold all our properties and terminated the rent contract thinking that we would have to leave the house by then? "


    Thanks
    That is a VERY long sentence!!!

    I think "properties" (which means houses/apartments) should be "property" (the uncountable word for all the things you own).

    What are we supposed to do if the result's not out by August 15th, by which time we might have sold everything we own and terminated the rental contract thinking we had to be out of the house by that date?"

    That's still a long sentence but I think it reads better.
    5jj and rainous like this.

  3. #3
    rainous's Avatar
    rainous is offline Member
    • Member Info
      • Member Type:
      • Other
      • Native Language:
      • Galician
      • Home Country:
      • Armenia
      • Current Location:
      • Antilles
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Posts
    336
    Threadstarter / Original Poster

    Default Re: conditional sentence...very tricky..help please..

    Quote Originally Posted by emsr2d2 View Post
    That is a VERY long sentence!!!

    I think "properties" (which means houses/apartments) should be "property" (the uncountable word for all the things you own).

    What are we supposed to do if the result's not out by August 15th, by which time we might have sold everything we own and terminated the rental contract thinking we had to be out of the house by that date?"

    That's still a long sentence but I think it reads better.
    Thank you for your suggestion.

    I just want to know if your suggestion holds the same meaning as the one I have intended in my clumsy sentence.

    here is the crux of the matter;
    I want the same degree of conditionality to be imposed on the second part "we have sold everything we own and terminated the rental contract thinking we had to be out of the house by that date" as imposed on "the result's not out by august 15th"

    Basically, my intention is as follows;

    If the result's not out by august 15th and if we have already sold everything by then thinking we had to move out by that date, what are we supposed to do?

    Does your sentence carry my intention? If not, is the sentence right above acceptable?
    Last edited by rainous; 22-Jul-2011 at 17:34.

  4. #4
    emsr2d2 is offline VIP Member
    • Member Info
      • Member Type:
      • English Teacher
      • Native Language:
      • British English
      • Home Country:
      • UK
      • Current Location:
      • UK
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Posts
    8,997
    Teacher

    Default Re: conditional sentence...very tricky..help please..

    Quote Originally Posted by rainous View Post
    Thank you for your suggestion.

    I just want to know if your suggestion holds the same meaning as the one I have intended in my clumsy sentence.

    here is the crux of the matter;
    I want the same degree of conditionality to be imposed on the second part "we have sold everything we own and terminated the rental contract thinking we had to be out of the house by that date" as imposed on "the result's not out by august 15th"

    Basically, my intention is as follows;

    If the result's not out by august 15th and if we have already sold everything by then thinking we had to move out by that date, what are we supposed to do?

    Does your sentence carry my intention? If not, is the sentence right above acceptable?
    As far as I'm concerned, my version retains the same meaning but I would like to say that your new version is correct and much better.

Similar Threads

  1. [Grammar] conditional sentence
    By Nathan Mckane in forum Ask a Teacher
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 19-Aug-2010, 01:41
  2. tricky sentence
    By jctgf in forum Ask a Teacher
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 23-Apr-2008, 01:24
  3. tricky sentence(mood)
    By sanctuarylsw in forum Ask a Teacher
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 06-Dec-2007, 19:59
  4. conditional sentence
    By ibrahim-prof@hotmail.com in forum Ask a Teacher
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 20-Feb-2007, 11:28
  5. Tricky mixed conditional
    By Ricco in forum Ask a Teacher
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 17-Jul-2006, 14:13

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0