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 #2 (permalink) Thu Oct 08, 2009 18:50 pm If Bill If Bill wasn’t so lazy, he’d have been the richest guy on the sales team. |
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| Both are correct. but your example "If Bill wasn’t so lazy, he’d have been the richest guy on the sales team" is a little less of what one would expect. It, in a way, implies that the sales team no longer exists, or that Bill is no longer a member of the team, or that he would have lost the money after having it. |
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Erik
You can meet me at english-test.net
Joined: 08 Oct 2009
Posts: 65
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| #3 (permalink) Fri Oct 09, 2009 13:27 pm If Bill If Bill wasn’t so lazy, he’d have been the richest guy on the sales t |
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| Haniffismael wrote: |
Question: *I just want to ask if the sentence you wrote is grammatically correct. (I assume it is since it came from you, but why is it right?)
here is the sentence :If Bill wasn’t so lazy, he’d be the richest guy on the sales team.
Shouldn't it be: If Bill wasn’t so lazy, he’d have been the richest guy on the sales team.??
And even the question I asked you itself  , shouldn't it be:
*I just want to ask if the sentence you wrote was grammatically correct. (I assume it was since it came from you, but why was it right?)
I am confused about this, should this one is right, then does that mean the grammar was right (past) but not anymore (present).
Please help me with my broken English. thank you |
Perhaps you have been confused by the subjunctive in the if-clause. "If Bill was" is not simple past, but subjunctive; that is, it should have been, because "was" is actually wrong here: in formal writing you would write "if Bill were". In a situation that is not real, not really true, you would use the subjunctive in the if-clause and "would" + infinitive in the main clause. Using "was" instead is a bit colloquial. With other verbs than "to be", there is no difference in form between past subjunctive and simple past, such as "worked", which may be either.
About the tense of your question: as Erik said, both tenses are fine. The situation described in "I just want to ask if the sentence you wrote was grammatically correct" applies to both past and present: it is relevant in both; it has 'existed' both then and now, and its truth or falsity have not changed from then to now. That is why you could use either tense; it is just a matter of presenting it differently, of emphasizing a different aspect of the situation. A rule of thumb here is that you can use either present or past according as the situation described 'is' in present or past; if it is in both, you have a choice, depending on what you want to emphasize. General rules or abstract relations are usually not bound by a specific time, such as "England is larger than Denmark" - unless you are speaking of a time when Denmark was larger. |
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 Cerberus™
I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 11 Feb 2009
Posts: 775
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| #4 (permalink) Fri Oct 09, 2009 17:16 pm thank you all |
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thank you all for clarifying this to me.
So, Cerberus, since i want to clarify what the writer WROTE in THE PAST, i think i would sound better by saying:
I just want to ask if the sentence you wrote was grammatically correct.
another one to ask you (please help me again)
which one is right:
you and me or you and I?
I was told if you want to repeat what you said you can just use you and me
for example: You and me, we should go there together. (we is a repeat here for you and me)
but the formal would be: you and I should go there together.
is that right? or was i being told wrongly (OR should it be: or was i being wrongly told)
please help me improve my broken english. |
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Haniffismael
New Member
Joined: 08 Oct 2009
Posts: 3
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| #5 (permalink) Fri Oct 09, 2009 21:22 pm thank you all |
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| Haniffismael wrote: |
thank you all for clarifying this to me.
So, Cerberus, since i want to clarify what the writer WROTE in THE PAST, i think i would sound better by saying:
I just want to ask if the sentence you wrote was grammatically correct. |
Yes, he wrote in the past, so it must be "wrote"; however, the "being correct" of the sentence is not necessarily in the past. Yes, the question is whether it "was" correct in the past, but it is also whether it "is" correct now: has the correctness of the sentence changed between then and now? No; that's why your question of whether it is/was correct can be either past or present.
The most natural thing to do would perhaps be to put in the time that is most relevant to your question; another thing that may be considered is that most writers would put the subordinate clause in the same tense as the main clause if there are no objections. Well, the bottom line is: just pick whichever one you like.
| Quote: |
another one to ask you (please help me again)
which one is right:
you and me or you and I?
I was told if you want to repeat what you said you can just use you and me
for example: You and me, we should go there together. (we is a repeat here for you and me)
but the formal would be: you and I should go there together.
is that right? |
I think you are right about you and me. The traditional way is to always use I if it is (part of) the subject of the sentence; that includes appositions such as "you and I, we should go ...". This is still the only way for purists. However, most native speakers will use "me" in speech; and perhaps "me" in writing as well - although purists and traditionalists will never do so in either case. Among those who are not complete purists, there may very well be some who would not write "you and me should go...", but would indeed write "you and me, we should go...".
| Quote: |
| or was i being told wrongly (OR should it be: or was i being wrongly told) |
I guess both are possible. Usually an infinitive or clause, or at least something that is told, comes after "told" in this sense; that is why "I was wrongly told that I should..." seems the most natural order: "told wrongly that..." unnecessarily splits the predicate. But it is possible if nothing follows it.
However the past continuous doesn't seem to be the best choice here; it is perhaps possible, but why not use the present perfect: it has happened in the past; but you are mainly saying it because it is still very relevant to the present. I'd pick "or have I been wrongly instructed?", or "or have I been wrongly told (so)?".
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| please help me improve my broken english. |
Your English is not broken! You appear to have a keen eye for consistency: that is good. I do advise you to use proper punctuation and capitals. |
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Cerberus™
I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 11 Feb 2009
Posts: 775
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| #6 (permalink) Sat Oct 10, 2009 3:19 am Thank you Cerberus |
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| Thank you again for your help. I appreciate it a lot. I guess English grammar is not that strict / difficult as what people imagine. Yes, I will try to use proper punctuation and capitals. If there are more enquiries I hope you don't mind answering them for me. Thank you again. |
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Haniffismael
New Member
Joined: 08 Oct 2009
Posts: 3
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