Which Conditional?

[suzivi]

Is it grammatically possible to say:

"We would be pleased if you would make this information available to your readers"?

Which conditional would this be?

Your response will clear up an ongoing discussion!
THANK YOU

[Francois]

It's grammatically fine.

FRC

[suzivi]

Thank you for your quick response!

Could you please give me THE rule for this one! This is a matter of continued discussion--I don't have a rule that says it's "okay"!

Thanks

[Steven D]

Is it grammatically possible to say:

"We would be pleased if you would make this information available to your readers"?

Which conditional would this be?

Your response will clear up an ongoing discussion!
THANK YOU

Yes, it is correct. Some might object to "would" being used in both clauses. It's fine for me, however.

Would be pleased - result clause

if you would make this information available to your readers - condition

If I had to classify this, I would call it a second condtional. However, I wouldn't classify it. You could replace "would" with "could" here. You can also replace "would" with the simple past form of a verb.

"We would be pleased if you made this information available to your readers"?

[wunaide]

...or instead of bothering with the "conditional number X" view, you might like to think of there being a choice between 3 Commentary Types:

TYPE 1: EVENTUAL COMMENTARY will + when
Example: We will be pleased || when you make this information available to your readers.

that is

We will be pleased
INDEPENDENT CLAUSE; CERTAINTY MODALITY will

when you make this information available to your readers.
DEPENDENT CLAUSE; TIME DEPENDENCY when



TYPE 2: CONDITIONAL COMMENTARY if + when
Example: We will be pleased || if you make this information available to your readers.

that is

We will be pleased
INDEPENDENT CLAUSE; CERTAINTY MODALITY will

if you make this information available to your readers.
DEPENDENT CLAUSE; CONDITION DEPENDENCY if


TYPE 3: HYPOTHETICAL COMMENTARY would + if
Example: We would be pleased || if you were to make this information available to your readers.

that is

We would be pleased
INDEPENDENT CLAUSE: HYPOTHETICAL MODALITY would

if you would make this information available to your readers.
DEPENDENT CLAUSE; CONDITION DEPENDENCY if



Note that although the above examples are in the Declarative Mood (they can be used to give information - i.e. they are statements), they can be functionally Imperative (they can demand goods and services - i.e. they can be used to tell someone what to do), with Eventual Commmentary being the most direct and therefore the least polite, and the Hypothetical Commentary being the least direct and therefore the most polite. Note that the above sentences refer to the Present.


Commonly used less formal forms of the Hypothetical Commentary are along the lines of:

We would be pleased || if you would make this information available to your readers.

We would be pleased || if you made this information available to your readers.

(Note that when referring to the Past, these types of sentences can only be functionally Declarative - they only give information; that is
1. EVENTUAL (were + when)
We were pleased || when you made this information available to your readers.
2. HYPOTHETICAL (would have + if)
We would have been pleased || if you were to have made/ had made this information available to your readers.)

[Steven D]

Commonly used less formal forms of the Hypothetical Commentary are along the lines of:

We would be pleased || if you would make this information available to your readers.

We would be pleased || if you made this information available to your readers.

These are correct sentences. Why should they be marked as "less formal"?

I would especially ask this of the second sentence. Why is that sentence "less formal"?

In which situations would one suggest such sentences as these not be used?

One need not hesitate in using these sentences. They are correct sentences in English.

[Steven D]

TYPE 3: HYPOTHETICAL COMMENTARY would + if

Example: We would be pleased || if you were to make this information available to your readers.

I really don't believe that sentence is as effective or as good as the following sentence. I would use the following sentence to make a request. This is a polite request in the form of a second conditional sentence. I think using "were to make" sounds too heavy. Also, "were to make" comes from "be to", which can be used to express something that is to take place. That is to say, it can be used to express something in the future. The simple past form more readily indicates "now" or "closer to now" in the context of a polite request.

• We would be pleased if you made this information available to your readers.

The hypothetical meaning that "would" typically has, I believe, is diminished by the fact that this is a real request. Someone wants the information made available.

We could say, "We will be pleased if you make this information available to your readers." This sentence is more direct, though it means the same thing. We can call it a first conditional. A second conditional sentence shows more distance - social distance - between the speaker and the listener. It is a more polite request, therefore.

[suzivi]

Thank you all for your responses to this question!
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suzivi

[Red5]

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