By the time you get there it'll be too late/have been too late.

[Ashraful Haque]

Which construction is correct between:
1) "By the time you get there it'll be too late." and "By the time you get there it'll have been too late."

This sentence is a bit different from the original questions. I just want to know what difference does 'could' make here:
2) "The patience died by the time the doctor made it." and "The patience died by the time the doctor could make it."

 

[GoesStation]

Which construction is correct between:
1) "By the time you get there it'll be too late" :tick: and "By the time you get there it will have been too late." :cross:

See above. Your second set of sentences contain several errors. Here's a corrected sentence: The patient died before the doctor could get there.

Please remember to state who wrote any text you quote here, and, when it's not your own work, exactly where it comes from.

 

[emsr2d2]

I'm pretty sure that in #2, you meant "patients" not "patience".

 

[probus]

With the changes suggested by others above both your sentences in 2 are grammatical and understandable. And while the version with "could" is common in the subcontinent, elsewhere it is less natural. Leave out "could".

 

[Ashraful Haque]

See above. Your second set of sentences contain several errors. Here's a corrected sentence: The patient died before the doctor could get there.

Please remember to state who wrote any text you quote here, and, when it's not your own work, exactly where it comes from.

Thank you for the corrections. Could you please tell me why you changed 'make it' to 'get there?' According to a dictionary it means- If you make it somewhere, you succeed in getting there, especially in time to do something.

And what difference does 'by the time' and 'before' make here? Don't they express the same idea that the patient died before the doctor could arrive?

 

[Ashraful Haque]

With the changes suggested by others above both your sentences in 2 are grammatical and understandable. And while the version with "could" is common in the subcontinent, elsewhere it is less natural. Leave out "could".

I don't know what you mean by 'subcontinent.' :-?
I mean I know the meaning of the word but which subcontinent are you talking about?

 

[GoesStation]

I don't know what you mean by 'subcontinent.' :-?
I mean I know the meaning of the word but which subcontinent are you talking about?

It's a common term for the Indian subcontinent.

 

[probus]

I don't know what you mean by 'subcontinent.' :-?
I mean I know the meaning of the word but which subcontinent are you talking about?

I didn't know there was more than one subcontinent. Besides the Indian, what others are there?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Which construction is correct between:

1) "By the time you get there it'll be too late." and "By the time you get there it'll be too late."

Or: By the time you'd have gotten there, it would have been too late.

The first is better than the second. Changing tense mid-sentence for no reason is awkward and unnatural.

It might help you to review parallelism.

This sentence is a bit different from the original questions. I just want to know what difference does 'could' make here:
2) "The patient died by the time the doctor got there." and "The patient died by the time the doctor could get there."

The word could is grammatical but might not be needed, depending on context. If it isn't, get rid of it. The less clutter, the better.

Keep it simple!

 

[Ashraful Haque]

It's a common term for the Indian subcontinent.

I thought there were other subcontinents as well. :-?

 

[Ashraful Haque]

Keep it simple!

Thank you very much. But my question still stands. Why is 'make it' wrong? I asked the same question in #5.

 

[probus]

"Make it" is not so much wrong as simply inappropriate in tone or register. The statement about the doctor arriving too late to save the patient is a serious one, so a casual slangy term like "make it" is not the best choice. As emsr2d2 indicated in her reply "get there" is better.