If I didn't ask this question, it would make no difference to my academic results.

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nelson13

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I had my dinner with my American friends last night, and I asked them several questions.
Then I said:
If I didn't ask this question, it would make no difference to my academic results.

I just uttered these sentences unintentionally, and in retrospect I thought I was wrong and I should have said:

If I hadn't asked this question, it would make no difference to my academic results.

because I was saying something in the past, so HADN'T ASKED;

Does any one of you think I should not change the sentence?
 

Barb_D

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If I didn't, it wouldn't make a difference.
If I hadn't, it wouldn't have made a difference.
 

nelson13

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Thank you. But your change, I'm afraid, will alter my original meaning.

At the dinner I was talking about a past event, so I think I should have used HADN'T ASKED(but I am not perfectly sure, so I have raised this question); and I believe I was correct in using IT WOULD MAKE because this semester has not ended and I was talking about the present situation, so I must not use WOULDN'T HAVE MADE.
 

nelson13

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If I didn't, it wouldn't make a difference.
If I hadn't, it wouldn't have made a difference.

Thanks for your correction. But for the red sentence, it is talking about a present or future situation, but I that night was talking about something that had just happened ie a past event, and I don't think I should use DIDN'T.

Can anyone answer my original question?
 

nelson13

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Or is there anyone who thinks it OK because I was just talking about something that happened a few seconds ago?

I've read other threads in the forum related to conditional sentences but they can't help.
 

nelson13

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Several years ago, a ranking official was removed from office.

A sentence: Many Shanghainese believe it would not have occurred if their city was still pre-eminent.

I don't understand the logic of this sentence, if it is grammatical:

WOULD NOT HAVE OCCURRED means a past event, so it is OK, but WAS means a present event, and my interpretation of the sentence is: if Shanghai still has a pre-eminent position at the present time, such a thing would not occur in the past.

How illogical it is!

My opinion is that this sentence, in order to be logical, should be rewritten as

Many Shanghainese believe it would not have occurred if their city had been still pre-eminent.

Some will say that because Shanghai is still NOT pre-eminent, we have to use WAS but not HAD been; but my opinion is that we are talking about a past event, so whether Shanghai has such a position at the present time is irrelevant.

Is there any native English speaker who agrees with me?
 

philo2009

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Several years ago, a ranking official was removed from office.

A sentence: Many Shanghainese believe it would not have occurred if their city was still pre-eminent.

I don't understand the logic of this sentence, if it is grammatical:

WOULD NOT HAVE OCCURRED means a past event, so it is OK, but WAS means a present event, and my interpretation of the sentence is: if Shanghai still has a pre-eminent position at the present time, such a thing would not occur in the past.

How illogical it is!

My opinion is that this sentence, in order to be logical, should be rewritten as

Many Shanghainese believe it would not have occurred if their city had been still pre-eminent.

Some will say that because Shanghai is still NOT pre-eminent, we have to use WAS but not HAD been; but my opinion is that we are talking about a past event, so whether Shanghai has such a position at the present time is irrelevant.

Is there any native English speaker who agrees with me?

There is no problem in theory with the sentence, and none semantically, provided one accepts the reasonable proposition that, this being a recent event, the city's current pre-eminence would naturally date from some earlier time, including the recent past time in question.
 

nelson13

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Thank you philo2009.

I remember last time when we were talking about a conditional sentence your answer could even refute a native speaker's answer.

May I have your opinion on my original question?(the title of the thread)

(if there's any part unclear in my original question, please let me know and explain the context)
 

5jj

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It is possible to invent contexts for conditional sentences in which virtually any combinations of tenses are posssible. The first, second, third, zero and mixed conditionals presented by many course books and grammars designed for students are simply what we might call the 'classic' examples.They are useful models for learners in the early days, but sentences which do not conform to these patterns are frequently acceptable - in the right context.

The two sentences in your original post are possible.
 

nelson13

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It is possible to invent contexts for conditional sentences in which virtually any combinations of tenses are posssible. The first, second, third, zero and mixed conditionals presented by many course books and grammars designed for students are simply what we might call the 'classic' examples.They are useful models for learners in the early days, but sentences which do not conform to these patterns are frequently acceptable - in the right context.

The two sentences in your original post are possible.

Thank you.

I know IF I WAS.... can be regarded as non-standard English (or colloquial)if it is a counterfactual conditional sentence, but how about when the subject is not I, but a city, a car, etc.?

For example, a sentence: if the country was destroyed by a monster, we would all flee.

Would it be considered colloquial and be better if change WAS to WERE?
 

5jj

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I know IF I WAS.... can be regarded as non-standard English (or colloquial)if it is a counterfactual conditional sentence,
'Was' is natural English for many native speakers of British English today. There are still some who regard it as sub-standard.
but how about when the subject is not I, but a city, a car, etc.?

For example, a sentence: if the country was destroyed by a monster, we would all flee.

Would it be considered colloquial and be better if I changed WAS to WERE?
Even some of the people who use 'were' with 'I' use 'was' with other subjects. It is always correct to use 'were' in such cases, though it may sound stilted to some speakers.
 

philo2009

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Thank you philo2009.

I remember last time when we were talking about a conditional sentence your answer could even refute a native speaker's answer.

May I have your opinion on my original question?(the title of the thread)

(if there's any part unclear in my original question, please let me know and explain the context)


It's a little strange. I imagine that what you meant was

Even
if I didn't ask this question, it would make no difference to my academic results.

There is nothing grammatically wrong with this, but, as written, it implies that you regularly ask this question (and perhaps you do).

If, however, you intend specifically to refer to a question asked on a single occasion in the past, then, naturally a mixed third conditional

Even if I hadn't asked this question, it would make no difference to my academic results.

would be the appropriate choice if the academic results were still pending, or, alternatively, a paradigmatic third conditional

Even if I hadn't asked this question, it would have made no difference to my academic results.

if the results were already known at the time of utterance.

The choice is yours!
 
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