were/would

[kohyoongliat]

1. If I were more forgetful, I would write 'Young Man the the Sea' instead of 'Old Man and the Sea.'

2. If I had been more forgetful, I would have written 'Young Man the the Sea' instead of 'Old Man and the Sea.'

If the first sentence correct or should I use the second sentence? Is there a difference in meaning between the two sentences?

[Anglika]

To be quite honest, both sentences make no sense to me at all. I think it is your use of "forgetful" which is wrong - "careless" is a better word for this purpose. If rephrased this way, then I would use "might" in the first example; the second would be fine.

1. If I were more careless, I might write 'Young Man the the Sea' instead of 'Old Man and the Sea.'

2. If I had been more careless, I would have written 'Young Man the the Sea' instead of 'Old Man and the Sea.'

[kohyoongliat]

Originally Posted by Anglika

To be quite honest, both sentences make no sense to me at all. I think it is your use of "forgetful" which is wrong - "careless" is a better word for this purpose. If rephrased this way, then I would use "might" in the first example; the second would be fine.

1. If I were more careless, I might write 'Young Man the the Sea' instead of 'Old Man and the Sea.'

2. If I had been more careless, I would have written 'Young Man the the Sea' instead of 'Old Man and the Sea.'

Hi Anglika

Thanks for your reply.

What I mean is that I had forgotten that the title of the book is 'Old Man and the Sea', and so wrote 'Young Man and the Sea'. It was not because I was careless, but because I had forgotten the correct title of the book.

With the above information, do the sentences make sense?

Thanks once again.

[Anglika]

On the basis that you had forgotten the title, then the use of "if" is wrong. "Because I was forgetful, I wrote..." OR "Because I am forgetful, I might/could have written..."

The conditionals you have used don't fit into your context, which seems to be a direct statement of cause and effect.

nb{The Old Man and the Sea]

[kohyoongliat]

Thanks, Anglika.

Yes "The Old Man and the Sea'. Thanks, too.