Google
English-Test.net
Find penpals and make new friends today!
 
to rent out property for a specific period of time; to let
object
lease
promote
nominate
full quiz correct answer
 
Username
Password
 Remember me? 
Search   Album   FAQ   Memberlist   Profile   Private messages   Register   Log in 

Mixed conditional sentence (If Bob wasn't so lazy, he would have passed his exam)



 
ESL/EFL Worksheets and Handouts for Students Printable, photocopiable, clearly structured
Designed for teachers and individual learners
For use in a classroom, at home, on your PC
ESL Forum | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
"growth" and the use of the article | "have told" vs "had told"
listening exercisestell a friend
Message
Author
Mixed conditional sentence (If Bob wasn't so lazy, he would have passed his exam) #1 (permalink) Mon Feb 18, 2008 14:35 pm   Mixed conditional sentence (If Bob wasn't so lazy, he would have passed his exam)
 

Hello,
I have just read about mixed conditional sentence in my grammar book. It gave me two examples:
1.If Bob wasn't so lazy,he would have passed his exam.
2.If the doctor had been called earlier,she would still be alive today.
I only understand the meaning of the example 2 because it was quite logical.
But on the contrary,the two clauses of the example 1 are not in relation to each other and I think it's quite illogical.Please explain it for me.
_________________
Don't see your shade think you are great
Duc
I'm here quite often ;-)


Joined: 18 Nov 2007
Posts: 260
Location: Vietnam

Mixed conditional sentence (If Bob wasn't so lazy, he would have passed his exam) #2 (permalink) Mon Feb 18, 2008 23:18 pm   Mixed conditional sentence (If Bob wasn't so lazy, he would have passed his exam)
 

Number 1 is in bad grammar. It's more or less low colloquial. It should say:

"If Bob weren't so lazy, he would have passed his exam."
Jamie (K)
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 6552
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA

In this story you'll learn how to use the English articlesEnglish grammar exercises — improve your English knowledge and vocabulary skillsAre you a native speaker of English? Then you should read this!Learn how to explore English words! Subscribe to free email English course
Mixed conditional sentence (If Bob wasn't so lazy, he would have passed his exam) #3 (permalink) Tue Feb 19, 2008 6:35 am   Mixed conditional sentence (If Bob wasn't so lazy, he would have passed his exam)
 

But the problem is that I don't understand its meaning because ''weren't so lazy'' is unrelated to ''would have passed his exam'',an action in present can't affect an action in the past.(of course unreal present and unreal past)
_________________
Don't see your shade think you are great
Duc
I'm here quite often ;-)


Joined: 18 Nov 2007
Posts: 260
Location: Vietnam

Mixed conditional sentence (If Bob wasn't so lazy, he would have passed his exam) #4 (permalink) Tue Feb 19, 2008 8:19 am   Mixed conditional sentence (If Bob wasn't so lazy, he would have passed his exam)
 

duc wrote:
But the problem is that I don't understand its meaning because ''weren't so lazy'' is unrelated to ''would have passed his exam'',an action in present can't affect an action in the past.(of course unreal present and unreal past)

Laziness is a lifetime attribute (or stigma) (or so believes the author of the above sentence). Therefore there's no need to specify when Bob is lazy - he is always lazy. But if he were not lazy...
Lost_Soul
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 15 Sep 2006
Posts: 1861
Location: South Park, Colorado, USA

Mixed conditional sentence (If Bob wasn't so lazy, he would have passed his exam) #5 (permalink) Tue Feb 19, 2008 14:19 pm   Mixed conditional sentence (If Bob wasn't so lazy, he would have passed his exam)
 

Here is another way to look at it:

FACT: Bob is lazy.
FACT (a past event): Bob did not pass his exam.

CONTRARY TO GENERAL/CURRENT FACT: If Bob weren't lazy
IMPOSSIBLE RESULT (It's impossible to change a past event): he would have passed his exam.
_________________
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." ~ Abraham Lincoln
Yankee
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 16 Apr 2006
Posts: 8316
Location: USA

Mixed conditional sentence (If Bob wasn't so lazy, he would have passed his exam) #6 (permalink) Tue Feb 19, 2008 19:55 pm   Mixed conditional sentence (If Bob wasn't so lazy, he would have passed his exam)
 

Hi,

Let's leave aside the conspicuous subjunctive (it's only usually visible with 'be') and posit this: If he didn't live in ***, he would have gone to university. The point is that he does live in*** and so if we accept this fanciful idea that he doesn't, we can then go off into the realms of the impossible and imagine that he would have gone to university. Or is that an explanation too far?

Alan
_________________
English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Present Simple
Alan
Co-founder
Alan Townend

Joined: 27 Sep 2003
Posts: 13891
Location: UK

Display posts from previous:   
"growth" and the use of the article | "have told" vs "had told"
ESL Forum | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms All times are GMT + 1 Hour
Page 1 of 1
Latest topics on English Forums
Help me with these two difficult sentencescan 'the oldest' be used without a noun?meaning of a sentence"I've got..." vs. "I've..."meaning of the phrase "to paper again"Usage of drawback, disadvantagePlease help to rephrase thise sentenceUsage of Who, Whomget a cold OR get cold"of the age" vs "at the age"Phrase "get on best with"usage of "it" and "that""To be thrown" - Does this make sense?

 
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
Subscribe to FREE email English course
First name E-mail