She did know his phone number, otherwise she would phone / would have phoned him.

Status
Not open for further replies.

Tan Elaine

Key Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
English
Home Country
Hong Kong
Current Location
Hong Kong
1. She did know his phone number, otherwise she would have phoned him.

2. She did know his phone number, otherwise, she would phone him.

Which sentence is correctly phrased? I think sentence 1 is correct. Am I right?

Thanks.
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
Neither is possible. 'Otherwise' requires a 'not' in the first clause.
 

Tan Elaine

Key Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
English
Home Country
Hong Kong
Current Location
Hong Kong
Thanks, Fivejedjon. The 'not' has been advertantly left out.

1. She did not know his phone number, otherwise she would have phoned him.

2. She did not know his phone number, otherwise, she would phone him.

Which sentence is correctly phrased? I think sentence 1 is. Am I correct?

Thanks.
 

SoothingDave

VIP Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2009
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
They're both grammatically correct. They mean different things.

(I would use "call" as the verb instead of "phone.")
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
The 'not' has been inadvertantly left out.

1. She did not know his phone number, otherwise she would have phoned him.
2. She did not know his phone number, otherwise, she would phone him.

Which sentence is correctly phrased? I think sentence 1 is. Am I correct?
Yes.

#2 would be: She does not know his phone number; otherwise she would phone him.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top