if clauses

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aicha
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Posts: 15
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2007 1:47 pm

if clauses

Post by aicha »

:?: am i correct?
1-he asked hi parents for loan but he didn't say what he want the money for,so they refused.I think that if hi told them,they might agreed.
2-I over slept,that's way I am half and hour late,if my phone doesn't ring at nine o'clock I might still be in bed.
3-It was drug,not the disease that killed him he would still be alive today if he didn't take that drug.
jeffcox
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Location: England - Brazil

Re: if clauses

Post by jeffcox »

The part of the sentence with 'if' that creates the condition in the past uses 'had+past participle'.
The part of the sentence that refers to a result in the past we use modal+have+past participle.

1. if he had told them [condition]......they might have agreed [hypothetical result]
2. if my phone hadn't rung [condition]
3. if he hadn't taken the drug [condition]


Don't confuse simple past forms of the verb, which do not really refer to the past at all. They refer to the present or future.

If I ran in the race, I'd come in first place!
This sentence talks about something that I probably won't do (now or in the future). It doesn't talk about a race that happened in the past.
aicha
Member
Posts: 15
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2007 1:47 pm

Re: if clauses

Post by aicha »

Hi,thanks so much for your help but I am still confused:
Why put the second and third examples in the three type of conditional sentences? :?:
jeffcox wrote:The part of the sentence with 'if' that creates the condition in the past uses 'had+past participle'.
The part of the sentence that refers to a result in the past we use modal+have+past participle.

1. if he had told them [condition]......they might have agreed [hypothetical result]
2. if my phone hadn't rung [condition]
3. if he hadn't taken the drug [condition]


Don't confuse simple past forms of the verb, which do not really refer to the past at all. They refer to the present or future.

If I ran in the race, I'd come in first place!
This sentence talks about something that I probably won't do (now or in the future). It doesn't talk about a race that happened in the past.
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