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[Everestdude]

Deleted

 

[emsr2d2]

The three sentences marked "A" are all grammatically correct.
If you're not sure that Jack understands that particular language, "would" isn't appropriate. That expresses certainty. You should use "might".

 

[jutfrank]

I can't see how would isn't appropriate. You don't have to be 100% sure of something in order to use will/would.

 

[5jj]

You don't have to be 100% sure of something in order to use will/would.

I do.

 

[jutfrank]

I do.

I've never properly understood your notion of certainty, 5jj.

I'm really not sure but I don't think he'll come.

How would you explain this?

 

[Tarheel]

@Everestdude I think a linguist is somebody who studies language, not somebody who knows several languages. (That's a polyglot.)

A person might know several languages, but you can't assume based on that that he will understand some language you don't know. (There are 80 million languages with at least a million speakers in India alone.)

 

[5jj]

I'm really not sure but I don't think he'll come.

How would you explain this?

What do you think needs explaining?

 

[jutfrank]

What do you think needs explaining?

Your notion of certainty.

Are you saying that in my example the speaker is certain? When you use the word 'certainty', do you mean it in the sense of being sure, or in the sense of a scale of sureness? In other words, can certainty in the way you're using it come in degrees or is it an absolute?

 

[5jj]

In this example, "I'm really not sure but I don't think he'll come", the speaker explicitly says that they are not sure.

 

[jutfrank]

In this example, "I'm really not sure but I don't think he'll come", the speaker explicitly says that they are not sure.

Right. So does will express certainty or not? If by 'certainty' you mean absolutely being sure, then it doesn't. But if by 'certainty' you mean 'a degree of certainty', then it does.

The way I understand it, there are degrees of certainty that can be modified by, for example, various adverbs:

He'll definitely come.
He'll probably come.
Maybe he'll come.

The certainty in the sentences above is modified by degree. The speaker doesn't have to be absolutely sure. Do you not see it like that?

 

[5jj]

The way I understand it, there are degrees of certainty that can be modified by, for example, various adverbs:

He'll definitely come.
He'll probably come.
Maybe he'll come.

Fine.

But if I don't use a modifying adverb, then I am not modifying to certainty.

He will come/He'll come. The speaker is asserting certainty.

 

[Ostap]

Is the sentence with “would” second conditional or would of probability?

I believe It's an implied second conditional: If Jack looked at this text, he would understand it.

You can turn it into (an implied) first conditional with the same degree of certainty: (If you) Show it to Jack, he will understand it.

 

[Everestdude]

I believe It's an implied second conditional: If Jack looked at this text, he would understand it.

You can turn it into (an implied) first conditional with the same degree of certainty: (If you) Show it to Jack, he will understand it.

Doesn’t make any sense. Just looking at this text causes you to understand it? If he understands it, he understand it regardless of whether you show the text to him or not. How does your conditional make any sense?

 

[Ostap]

Doesn’t make any sense. Just looking at this text causes you to understand it? If he understands it, he understand it regardless of whether you show the text to him or not. How does your conditional make any sense?

What doesn't make sense is you keeping deleting your original post.

Read my post again. It should not be very hard to see that the "it" in my sentence refers back to "text" in my sentence and not to "language" in your (now deleted) post.

 

[emsr2d2]

The OP has inexplicably deleted the entire contents of post #1 making our efforts in this thread a complete waste of our time. Thread closed.

 

[5jj]

The OP has inexplicably deleted the entire contents of post #1 making our efforts in this thread a complete waste of our time. Thread closed.

Despite the fact that i restored the deleted texts a couple of times and asked Everestdude not to delete posts that had received a response.

 

[5jj]

Despite the fact that i restored the deleted texts a couple of times and asked Everestdude not to delete posts that had received a response.

I have therefore deleted their account.