The phrase "given a (the) chance" I've recently come across the phrase "given the chance" ("Many people are capable of learning a foreign language given the chance") I'm trying to define it as a part

Search from various Englisch teachers...

Olga the Obscure

The phrase "given a (the) chance" I've recently come across the phrase "given the chance" ("Many people are capable of learning a foreign language given the chance") I'm trying to define it as a particular syntactical form, but I haven't succeeded in that. I know that "given" is a past participle, and I understand the meaning of the phrase, but is there a name for this structure? Does it work with some other verbs as well? Could you give me examples with "given a chance" VS "given THE chance" - as a Russian speaker, I still struggle with the articles in English... Thanks in advance!

15. Dez. 2015 20:02

Antworten · 4

'Given a chance' and 'given the chance' are almost interchangeable phrases. They are used to designate a hypothetical situation are therefore are in the subjunctive. "Given the chance, I would attend the conference again." (here the phrase 'If I were' is assumed to exist in the beginning) "Given another chance, she would say yes." (Here 'another' takes the place of 'a' to designate a repeat action that has not yet occurred, thus the subjunctive use of the past participle.

15. Dezember 2015

Haben Sie noch keine Antworten gefunden?

Geben Sie Ihre Fragen ein und lassen Sie sich von Muttersprachlern helfen!