[General] Conditional - Should I use 'went' or 'go'

[EnglishLearner007]

Hi Mates

Consider a situation where my friends are asking me to go to a conference (due next month). I am reluctant and trying to convince them that it would be a waste of time. Which sentence should I use?

What good would that do if I went there? Or,
What good would that do if I go there?

Thank you.

 

[GoesStation]

I'd ask What good would it do if I went? or What good will it do if I go? You can end with there,​ but it's not necessary.

 

[EnglishLearner007]

Wow. Thank you @GoesStation for such a quick response. Much appreciated.

Since I am new to the forum, I am not sure whether I should start a new thread so I will continue with this one. Please help me with the below sentence.

Situation: I am avoiding giving technical presentation as I fear that I would make mistakes while speaking English. Also, I fear that during QnA session I might not be able to speak fluently and make a mess out of situation even though I might know the answer to the questions.

So I am trying to tell this fact to my colleagues who are eager to suggest my name for giving presentation. Can you please analyse the sentence and suggest accordingly?

Imagine what would happen if I went ahead [for presentation] and someone asked me a question and that I knew the answer, but because of my poor English I couldn't speak properly.
​

Something seems to be off with the above sentence. I am not looking for 100% grammatically correct sentence, but something that is fine by a native speaker. Something that a native speaker would speak in similar situation with his/her colleagues.

Thanks in advance.

 

[GoesStation]

Your sentence expresses your concern very well. Will it improve your case if you make it more natural? If you really want to improve it, you can write Imagine what would happen if I gave the presentation, someone asked me a question, and I knew the answer; but because of my poor English, I couldn't answer properly!

I'm afraid you're likely to get a response like "If you can speak half as well as you write, you'll do fine."

 

[EnglishLearner007]

Thank you @GoesStation.

My idea is to become as fluent in spoken English as possible (non-colloquial style, of course). I understand that I will never be able to speak as fluently as a native speaker, but it's worth trying. The trouble is that I have never come across a single ESL book that teaches complicated sentences like the one I mentioned. Most of them have one liner examples to present a point.

I think the next best thing that I could have done was to join this forum and thanks to the people like you who are generous enough to make time for us.

PS: Was the above sentence correct?

 

[GoesStation]

I think the next best thing that I could have done was to join this forum and thanks to the people like you who are generous enough to make time for us.

PS: Was the above sentence correct?

Yes, that's perfect. Congratulations!

 

[EnglishLearner007]

While reading a book, I have come across yet another (similar) sentence.

What good does it do, if you had the money and not enjoy it?

Shouldn't it be

What good does it do, if you had the money and wouldn’t enjoy it?

 

[Tdol]

What good does it do, if you had the money and not enjoy it?

The normal punctuation with a conditional is to use a comma if the if clause comes first:

If you had all that money, would you enjoy it?

When you reverse the order, you don't need a comma:

Would you enjoy it if you had all that money?