Conditional he wouldn't ... If they hadn't...

[jon]

Hi all,

Sentence:
He ____ an actor now if they hadn't encouraged him to act

Issue
i1 Which is correct "wouldn't have been" or "wouldn't be".
i2 What is the grammar rule for this

Thanks in advance !!
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(Feel free to correct mistakes in my post)

[Alan]

Hi,

I don't think it's really a question of grammar but more of meaning. I would choose 'wouldn't be' because of the adverb 'now'. If you omit 'now', I would choose 'wouldn't have been.'

Alan
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Don't bank on it

[Yankee]

.
Without the word 'now', it might be better to use the verb 'become' rather than 'be', and then you would have a standard type 3 conditional rather than a "mixed conditional":

He wouldn't have become an actor if they hadn't encouraged him to act.

"Mixed conditionals" are OK, but their use must be justified by the context and/or (as Alan said) the precise meaning of the sentence.
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Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English