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Lin Wah Ling
What type of Conditional?
<font face="Times New Roman, serif">What type of Conditional does it use for the following sentence?</font>
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<font face="Times New Roman, serif">If you <font color="#ff0000">would have been</font> in an audience at one of the conferences I've spoken at recently, you <font color="#ff0000">would have been</font> asked "Why Be Constrained"?</font>
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Oct 18, 2017 3:02 PM
Comments · 2
1
received with thx
October 18, 2017
1
It's 3rd conditional (contrary to fact past). The use of "would" in the if-clause is common in colloquial American usage, although there's no reason for a learner to use it (since it's still considered non-standard). In some cases, it can be used correctly in both American and British English with "would's" original meaning of "willingness," "wanting." For example: "If you would have only studied more, you would have passed the test." Here, the usage of "would" shows that the speaker believes the problem is his friend's lack of a will to study, as opposed to something outside of his control.
October 18, 2017
Lin Wah Ling
Language Skills
Chinese (Cantonese), English
Learning Language
English
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