for you to

English grammar questions, answered by Alan

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azz
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for you to

Post by azz »

Can one say
a. For you to stand by him will encourage him not to give up.
b. That you should stand by him will encourage him not to give up.
?


The sentences are archaic, but are they incorrect?
Maybe one ought to use 'would' instead of 'will'?

Many thanks.
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Alan
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Re: for you to

Post by Alan »

I'm not sure how archaic they are, but neither is well constructed...

Good, contemporary style would require a gerund, either in the more formal possessive-case construction

YOUR standing by him will/would...

or the more conversational objective-case construction,

YOU standing by him...

The choice between 'will' and 'would' is a quite separate matter, and depends on how realistic or hypothetical the speaker intends the statement to be.
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