keannu
VIP Member
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2010
- Member Type
- Student or Learner
- Native Language
- Korean
- Home Country
- South Korea
- Current Location
- South Korea
I learned that in reported speech, conditionals don't change. Then is "she were not ready" used here? It seems a likely conditional(conditional1) as she is usually late(so it should be "if she was not ready"), but I don't know why it has the form of hypothetical, unlikely future.Maybe the writer wrote wrong, or the publisher copied it wrong.
ex)A friend of mine had a wife who was habitually late. He had nagged and nagged his wife about her being late, but nothing changed....Tired of suffering the consequences of her behavior, he decided to give them back to her. One night they had plans to go to a dinner party, and he did not want to be late. In advance, he told her that he wanted to be on time and that if she were not ready by 6:00 P.M., he would leave without her. She was late, and he left.
ex)A friend of mine had a wife who was habitually late. He had nagged and nagged his wife about her being late, but nothing changed....Tired of suffering the consequences of her behavior, he decided to give them back to her. One night they had plans to go to a dinner party, and he did not want to be late. In advance, he told her that he wanted to be on time and that if she were not ready by 6:00 P.M., he would leave without her. She was late, and he left.