Hello. &gt;&gt;If I had known you were coming, I would have made a dinner. This is the past hypothetical situation. But I just don't know why I should use " you were coming" in this state. I know t

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Hello. >>If I had known you were coming, I would have made a dinner. This is the past hypothetical situation. But I just don't know why I should use " you were coming" in this state. I know that Present continuous can be used as a future tense. Can I mention "Were coming" as a hypothetical future in the past?. Ohhh I was so confused while I was writing this post.

Apr 4, 2022 6:19 AM

Answers · 5

Yes, you are exactly right. Also note that "you were coming" is not conditional; it is a noun clause serving as the object of "known": If I had known X (i.e., something, a fact, etc.) I would have made dinner. So congratulations! You're not confused at all :)

April 4, 2022

Had I known you were coming, I would have made dinner. This sentence indicates that “if” by the time you “hypothetically” knew that she was coming (the action here is active and did not stop)

April 4, 2022

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