mix of going to and would in a sentence

[ostap77]

"If we take a poll, we are going to figure out what woud be the righ answer."

Can I mix the progressive form of the future simple tense and the "would ..." part in one sentence providing there is still some doubt about the resuslt being correct?

 

[bhaisahab]

"If we take a poll, we are going to figure out what woud be the righ answer."

Can I mix the progressive form of the future simple tense and the "would ..." part in one sentence providing there is still some doubt about the resuslt being correct?

No, it doesn't work. It wouldn't work with "will" instead of "are going to" either.

 

[ostap77]

No, it doesn't work. It wouldn't work with "will" instead of "are going to" either.

The sentence is grammatically incorrect, isn't it?
It has to be followed by "what will be the correct answer"?
Or is it because we "figure out the right answer ", whereas "figure out what the right answer is.." is incorrect?

 

[Raymott]

The sentence is grammatically incorrect, isn't it?
It has to be followed by "what will be the correct answer"?

No, the correct sentence (assuming a correct answer exists now) is : "If we take a poll, we will figure out what the right answer is."

You can't take a poll to discover what something will be in the future. Politicians know this. Polls tell you what people think at the time of the poll - ie. what the answer is.
Of course, if you mean that the right answer will become what the majority wants, it's ok: "If we take a poll, we will figure out what the colour will be" - because you are going to paint it the most popular colour.

 

[ostap77]

No, the correct sentence (assuming a correct answer exists now) is : "If we take a poll, we will figure out what the right answer is."

You can't take a poll to discover what something will be in the future. Politicians know this. Polls tell you what people think at the time of the poll - ie. what the answer is.
Of course, if you mean that the right answer will become what the majority wants, it's ok: "If we take a poll, we will figure out what the colour will be" - because you are going to paint it the most popular colour.

There's going to be an answer but I'm not sure if it will be 100% correct so I'm using "If we take a poll, we are going to figure out what the righ answer would be." to convey the inferred meaning?

 

[Raymott]

There's going to be an answer but I'm not sure if it will be 100% correct so I'm using "would be the correct answer" to convey the inferred meaning?

So you mean, "We are going to take a poll to find out what the right answer would be if we took a poll"?

It depends on whether the poll is 100% likely to give you the right answer. And that can only happen if the right answer is defined by the poll.

Can you give a scenario that describes the sentence you want? - "If we take a poll, we are going to figure out what the right answer would be." But you still seem to have a conditional sentence without a condition.

 

[ostap77]

So you mean, "We are going to take a poll to find out what the right answer would be if we took a poll"?

It depends on whether the poll is 100% likely to give you the right answer. And that can only happen if the right answer is defined by the poll.

Can you give a scenario that describes the sentence you want? - "If we take a poll, we are going to figure out what the right answer would be." But you still seem to have a conditional sentence without a condition.

If we take a poll in a TV studio in Ukraine with "president of Ukraine" present , there might be some people not willing to expres their true feelings because of them being afraid of loosing certain "benefits". So the poll wouldn't be 100% likely to give me the correct answer?

 

[SoothingDave]

Can you give a scenario that describes the sentence you want? - "If we take a poll, we are going to figure out what the right answer would be."

A politician, preparing for a debate or interview. He takes a poll so that he can know what the "popular" answer is, so that if he is asked the question, he knows what the right answer would be .

 

[ostap77]

A politician, preparing for a debate or interview. He takes a poll so that he can know what the "popular" answer is, so that if he is asked the question, he knows what the right answer would be .

I'm talking about president of Ukraine not being totally democrat after the use of teargas on Idependence Day in Kyiv,Ukraine. Him being present in a studio would definetily influence the poll.

 

[emsr2d2]

If we take a poll in a TV studio in Ukraine with [STRIKE]"[/STRIKE] the president of Ukraine present[STRIKE] there[/STRIKE], there might be some people not willing to expres their true [STRIKE]fillings[/STRIKE] feelings because of them being [STRIKE]affraid[/STRIKE] afraid [STRIKE]to loose[/STRIKE] of losing certain "benefits". So the poll wouldn't be 100% likely to give me the correct answer?

Please see my amendments above.

Check your dictionary for the difference between "filling" and "feeling", and between "loose" and "lose".

 

[ostap77]

Please see my amendments above.

Check your dictionary for the difference between "filling" and "feeling", and between "loose" and "lose".

Would this sentence be OK with the scenario provided ""If we take a poll, we are going to figure out what the correct answer would be."?

 

[Raymott]

If we take a poll in a TV studio in Ukraine with "president of Ukraine" present , there might be some people not willing to expres their true feelings because of them being afraid of lo[STRIKE]o[/STRIKE]sing certain "benefits". So the poll wouldn't be 100% likely to give me the correct answer?

I can't see how that's a scenario for the question, "If we take a poll, we are going to figure out what the right answer would be." And you haven't given the condition, unless it is "If the president were present."
So, we have "If we take a poll, we are going to figure out what the right answer would be if the president were present." But the president is present. So, it's still correct to say, "If we take a poll, we are going to figure out what the right answer is, with the president present."

Also, I'm not sure what you mean by "the correct answer". Do you mean "the answer that we'd get if the president weren't present"?

 

[Raymott]

A politician, preparing for a debate or interview. He takes a poll so that he can know what the "popular" answer is, so that if he is asked the question, he knows what the right answer would be .

This the closest to a correct scenario so far. :up:
But I'd use "should be", rather than "would be" - a small point.

 

[5jj]

Once again, ostap, we are entering the realms of linguistic fantasy. If everybody keeps at it long enough, somebody will come up with a scenario in which your sentence is possible. Is it worth the effort for something that 99.99% of all native speakers will never hear, see or say?

 

[ostap77]

This the closest to a correct scenario so far. :up:
But I'd use "should be", rather than "would be" - a small point.

Suppose the president of a foreign country is a totalitarian jerk. He's very likely to influence the poll. The people of that country are going to figure out what the correct answer "would be". There are good odds that it will be altered.

 

[5jj]

Suppose the president of a foreign country is a totalitarian jerk. He's very likely to influence the poll. The people of that country are going to figure out what the correct answer "would be". There are good odds that it will be altered.

Suppose the president had AIDS and knew that at least half of the population would be appalled to know this. Suppose, however, he knew that 45% of the population were worried about AIDS and might vote for a president who had a vested interest in helping people with AIDS. Suppose the president knew that people who worried about AIDS were more likely to vote than people who would be appalled by knowing that the president had AIDS. Suppose the president had a wart on his left nostril and ...

 

[emsr2d2]

Suppose the president of a foreign country is a totalitarian jerk. He's very likely to influence the poll. The people of that country are going to figure out what the correct answer "would be". There are good odds that it will be altered.

That still doesn't make it the "correct" answer. They might work out what the answer that he wants to hear might be and choose to vote that way but if it doesn't reflect their true feelings, then it is neither the correct answer nor the real answer.

With a poll, what you get is a result, not an answer.