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Conditional sentence: If I ... (know) you weren't going to come tomorrow, I...



 
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Conditional sentence: If I ... (know) you weren't going to come tomorrow, I... #1 (permalink) Sun May 11, 2008 3:37 am   Conditional sentence: If I ... (know) you weren't going to come tomorrow, I...
 

Hello,
Have a nice day!
And here is an exercise that makes me very confused ,I need your useful helps:
Put the correct form of the verb to the blank:
1.If I ....(know) you weren't going to come tomorrow ,I ...(not buy) any food.
I don't know what type is this conditional sentence and why it is ''tomorrow'' but not ''the next day''.
Please help me.
Thank you very much
Kidnapper
New Member


Joined: 09 May 2008
Posts: 8

Conditional sentence: If I ... (know) you weren't going to come tomorrow, I... #2 (permalink) Sun May 11, 2008 5:06 am   Conditional sentence: If I ... (know) you weren't going to come tomorrow, I...
 

Hi Kidnapper

In theory, it could be a type 2 conditional:
Type 2: If I knew you weren't going to come tomorrow, I wouldn't buy any food.

Or it could be a type 3 conditional (type 3 is more likely, in my opinion):
Type 3: If I had known you weren't going to come tomorrow, I wouldn't have bought any food.

In either case, the word 'tomorrow' is used because tomorrow is tomorrow at the time the sentence is spoken.

For example:
Let's say today is Friday and tomorrow is Saturday. I went shopping for food at 10 o'clock this morning (Friday). It is now 5 pm on Friday, and you have just said this to me: "I am not going to come tomorrow." (Tomorrow = Saturday) My response could be "If I had known (before I went shopping this morning) that you weren't going to come tomorrow, I wouldn't have bought any food." (Tomorrow = Saturday)
.
Yankee
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 16 Apr 2006
Posts: 8265
Location: USA

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Conditional sentence: If I ... (know) you weren't going to come tomorrow, I... #3 (permalink) Sun May 11, 2008 10:02 am   Conditional sentence: If I ... (know) you weren't going to come tomorrow, I...
 

But why it is ''you weren't going..'' but not ''are going'' because to the best of my knowledge ,in type 3 conditional ,in IF-clause ,''had V-ed'' is not the past perfect tense ,it is just a form of verb ,so it can be ''are going'' ,can't it? I just think so Very Happy
Kidnapper
New Member


Joined: 09 May 2008
Posts: 8

Conditional sentence: If I ... (know) you weren't going to come tomorrow, I... #4 (permalink) Sun May 11, 2008 13:47 pm   Conditional sentence: If I ... (know) you weren't going to come tomorrow, I...
 

kidnapper wrote:
But why it is ''you weren't going..'' but not ''are going'' because to the best of my knowledge ,in type 3 conditional ,in IF-clause ,''had V-ed'' is not the past perfect tense ,it is just a form of verb ,so it can be ''are going'' ,can't it? I just think so Very Happy
I'd say this (weren't going to) has to do with the sequence of tenses. Look at these:

1. I know you are not going to come. (i.e. I know X now)
2. I knew you were not going to come. (i.e. I knew X in the past)

The condition in your type 3 conditional sentence is "If I had known (fact X), ...".
In that sentence, fact X needs to be worded the same way as in sentence 2 because the reference is to what you thought or didn't think in the past.
.
Yankee
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 16 Apr 2006
Posts: 8265
Location: USA

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