Which ones are correct? Can you make the sentences better with same meanings?

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I'm still learning

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Let me know which ones are correct...

So here are the sentences: -

1.

I could have been a dear friend of her if she didn't lie to me from the beginning.

or

I could have been a dear friend of her if she wouldn't lie to me from the beginning.

One question: Can I write "DEAR FRIEND TO HER" instead of "DEAR FRIEND OF HER"? Will they mean same or different?


2.

Every time my dad would turn the TV on, I used to hear how many Americans had been jobless & homeless during recession.

or

Every time my dad would turn the TV on, I would hear how many Americans had been jobless & homeless during recession?

or

Every time my dad turned the TV on, I heard how many Americans had been jobless & homeless during recession?

So which ones are correct?

In example 2. I have used 3 different sentences. Are they all correct? And do they all mean the same?

Thanks in advance
 

bhagona

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NOT A TEACHER.

However, I will try.

I could have been a dear friend of her if she didn't lie to me from the beginning.

In above sentece, I found eveything fine but "didn't", seemd to be wrong.
I think " hadn't" would be the right verb.

Now, your subsitute for that sentence was, I could have been a dear friend of her if she wouldn't lie to me from the beginning.

Same problem again, when We use these kind of conditionals(3rd), We must abide by some ground rules. here "if" is followed by "would", which is wrong. If it followed by "had" (instead of would) it would be a correct sentence.

Lets wait for a TEACHER.:up:
 

emsr2d2

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Let me know which ones are correct...

So here are the sentences: -

1.

I could have been a dear friend of her if she didn't lie to me from the beginning.

or

I could have been a dear friend of her if she wouldn't lie to me from the beginning.

I would rewrite this as follows:

We could have been good friends if she hadn't lied to me from the beginning.

However, if you really want to keep the "dear friend of..." then I would say "I could have been a dear friend of hers if she hadn't lied to me from the beginning."


One question: Can I write "DEAR FRIEND TO HER" instead of "DEAR FRIEND OF HER"? Will they mean same or different?
They're roughly the same, but you need to remember it would "dear friend to her" but "dear friend of hers".


2.

Every time my dad would turn the TV on, I used to hear how many Americans had been jobless & homeless during recession.

or

Every time my dad would turn the TV on, I would hear how many Americans had been jobless & homeless during recession?

or

Every time my dad turned the TV on, I heard how many Americans had been jobless & homeless during recession?

Every time my dad turned the TV on, I would hear how many Americans were jobless and homeless during the recession.

So which ones are correct?

In example 2. I have used 3 different sentences. Are they all correct? And do they all mean the same?

Thanks in advance

See above.
 

I'm still learning

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See above.

Thanks for your answer.

However, I'd like to know something here...

You said "Every time....turned....., I would hear....", can you explain why you wrote WOULD?

"When I was a kid, I used to do....." & When I was a kid, I would do..."

What's the difference between USED TO & WOULD?

Do they mean same?

Can't I write USED TO in the place of WOULD?

Another question: Why write WERE instead of HAD BEEN? How do I determine where to write what? What are the specific rules for this?
 
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I'm still learning

Junior Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2010
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Bengali; Bangla
Home Country
India
Current Location
India
NOT A TEACHER.

However, I will try.

I could have been a dear friend of her if she didn't lie to me from the beginning.

In above sentece, I found eveything fine but "didn't", seemd to be wrong.
I think " hadn't" would be the right verb.

Now, your subsitute for that sentence was, I could have been a dear friend of her if she wouldn't lie to me from the beginning.

Same problem again, when We use these kind of conditionals(3rd), We must abide by some ground rules. here "if" is followed by "would", which is wrong. If it followed by "had" (instead of would) it would be a correct sentence.

Lets wait for a TEACHER.:up:


Thanks..
Nicely explained....
 
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