Would you mind if I left/leave right now?

[K_ENG]

1. Could I use 'leave' in the if clause following 'Would you mind' instead of 'left'? If so, how do the two expressions differ in their meanings?

a)Would you mind if I left right now?
b)Would you mind if I leave right now?

2. I also read in another ENGLISH Forum that the sentence structure of a) could be interpreted in two different ways: first, just to express politeness and it can be replaced by "Do you mind if~" structure. The other view is that it is used as a conditional clause (therefore no real intention to do so), hence there is a semantic difference between c)'Would you mind if I left" and d)"Do you mind if I leave." Is there really such a meaning difference between c and d?

Happy New Year to everyone!

[oregeezer]

Been a speaker of Ameican for over seventy years BUT I am NOT a grammarian!
The difference is so subtle it would not be noticed by most native speakers of American English.
If I left/If I leave
Would you mind/Do you mind
Sounds the same to me.

[riverkid]

Originally Posted by K_ENG

1. Could I use 'leave' in the if clause following 'Would you mind' instead of 'left'?

Yes, you can, K.

If so, how do the two expressions differ in their meanings?

a)Would you mind if I left right now?
b)Would you mind if I leave right now?

Past tense FORMS are used to be less direct, and therefore more polite.

2. I also read in another ENGLISH Forum that the sentence structure of a) could be interpreted in two different ways: first, just to express politeness and it can be replaced by "Do you mind if~" structure.

If the advice was that you could use, "Do you mind if I left right now", ie. combining present FORM "do" with past FORM 'left', I'd say no, that it wouldn't be that common. Because 'do' already speaks to, highlights a direct [and therefore less polite/deferential address] the likelihood that ENLs would combine the two is not all that great to my mind.

The other view is that it is used as a conditional clause (therefore no real intention to do so), hence there is a semantic difference between c)'Would you mind if I left" and d)"Do you mind if I leave." Is there really such a meaning difference between c and d?

I can't envision that anyone would use this as a conditional clause; 'would' is not always have conditional meanings, it simply has more polite/deferential meanings.

Happy New Year to everyone!

And you too, K_ENG.

[K_ENG]

Oregeezer & Riverkid, Thank you both for your replies!