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Nancy Tejedor
Hi italki community
I am struggling with filler words. I overuse them all the time.
Yesterday I was talking with someone and I tried to explained her how I started using filler words.
But I´m not sure about this sentence, can you help me?
"I used to think that If I use filler words in my speech I will sound more natural"
Or should I have used the second conditional?
"I used to think that If I used filler words in my speech, I would sound more natural"
I don´t know which conditional is the best option since I am talking about something I used to think in the past but now I had change my mind about it.
Thank you
Sep 7, 2021 7:58 PM
Answers · 3
1
Short answer: Use "would", because it's in the past.
Long answer: This is not an unreal conditional at all. It is *not* the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or zero conditional. In fact, it is just the 1st conditional ("If I use filler words, I will sound natural") backshifted into the past as *reported speech*.
September 7, 2021
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Nancy Tejedor
Language Skills
English, Spanish
Learning Language
English
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