If only had I known it! / If only I had known it! Announcing the arrival of Valued Associate #679: Cesar Manara Planned maintenance scheduled April 23, 2019 at 23:30 UTC (7:30pm US/Eastern)“I and others” or “me and others”How did 'wieldy', the positive form of 'unwieldy', come to be a non-existent word?Missing had/have?present simple plus past simple in the if-clauseWhat 's the grammatical point in this sentence?“I had been done that” Is this correct?Inversion after “only a few years ago”Inversion should happen only once or multiple times in a single sentence?Using 'not only… but also'more than I could hope to
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If only had I known it! / If only I had known it!
Announcing the arrival of Valued Associate #679: Cesar Manara
Planned maintenance scheduled April 23, 2019 at 23:30 UTC (7:30pm US/Eastern)“I and others” or “me and others”How did 'wieldy', the positive form of 'unwieldy', come to be a non-existent word?Missing had/have?present simple plus past simple in the if-clauseWhat 's the grammatical point in this sentence?“I had been done that” Is this correct?Inversion after “only a few years ago”Inversion should happen only once or multiple times in a single sentence?Using 'not only… but also'more than I could hope to
.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__bot-mid-leaderboard:empty margin-bottom:0;
Could you help me, please?
A question for the native speakers (desired) of British English or American English.
Which variant is correct and why? Or it's possible to use either of them)?
If only had I known it!
If only I had known it!
grammar usage syntactic-analysis sentence inversion
asked Mar 25 at 18:58
JoshJosh
61
add a comment |
Could you help me, please?
A question for the native speakers (desired) of British English or American English.
Which variant is correct and why? Or it's possible to use either of them)?
If only had I known it!
If only I had known it!
grammar usage syntactic-analysis sentence inversion
asked Mar 25 at 18:58
JoshJosh
61
1
The second one is correct; the first one isn't, because subject-auxiliary inversion (had I instead of I had) is not allowed here. It needs something specific in the context -- a fronted adverb, for instance -- in order to happen, and there's none here.
– John Lawler
Mar 25 at 19:15
1
John, thank you!
– Josh
Mar 25 at 19:29
add a comment |
Could you help me, please?
A question for the native speakers (desired) of British English or American English.
Which variant is correct and why? Or it's possible to use either of them)?
If only had I known it!
If only I had known it!
grammar usage syntactic-analysis sentence inversion
asked Mar 25 at 18:58
JoshJosh
61
Could you help me, please?
A question for the native speakers (desired) of British English or American English.
Which variant is correct and why? Or it's possible to use either of them)?
If only had I known it!
If only I had known it!
grammar usage syntactic-analysis sentence inversion
grammar usage syntactic-analysis sentence inversion
asked Mar 25 at 18:58
JoshJosh
61
asked Mar 25 at 18:58
JoshJosh
61
edited Mar 25 at 19:06
Josh
asked Mar 25 at 18:58
JoshJosh
61
asked Mar 25 at 18:58
JoshJosh
61
asked Mar 25 at 18:58
JoshJosh
61
61
1
The second one is correct; the first one isn't, because subject-auxiliary inversion (had I instead of I had) is not allowed here. It needs something specific in the context -- a fronted adverb, for instance -- in order to happen, and there's none here.
– John Lawler
Mar 25 at 19:15
1
John, thank you!
– Josh
Mar 25 at 19:29
add a comment |
1
The second one is correct; the first one isn't, because subject-auxiliary inversion (had I instead of I had) is not allowed here. It needs something specific in the context -- a fronted adverb, for instance -- in order to happen, and there's none here.
– John Lawler
Mar 25 at 19:15
1
John, thank you!
– Josh
Mar 25 at 19:29
1
1
The second one is correct; the first one isn't, because subject-auxiliary inversion (had I instead of I had) is not allowed here. It needs something specific in the context -- a fronted adverb, for instance -- in order to happen, and there's none here.
– John Lawler
Mar 25 at 19:15
The second one is correct; the first one isn't, because subject-auxiliary inversion (had I instead of I had) is not allowed here. It needs something specific in the context -- a fronted adverb, for instance -- in order to happen, and there's none here.
– John Lawler
Mar 25 at 19:15
1
1
John, thank you!
– Josh
Mar 25 at 19:29
John, thank you!
– Josh
Mar 25 at 19:29
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
In the US I most frequently hear "If only I had known"; when I was home in Britain I also heard a variant construction: "Had I but known" which I've almost never heard here in the US.
answered Mar 25 at 19:11
GerardFallaGerardFalla
870111
Gerald, thank you!
– Josh
Mar 25 at 19:30
add a comment |
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1 Answer
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In the US I most frequently hear "If only I had known"; when I was home in Britain I also heard a variant construction: "Had I but known" which I've almost never heard here in the US.
answered Mar 25 at 19:11
GerardFallaGerardFalla
870111
Gerald, thank you!
– Josh
Mar 25 at 19:30
add a comment |
In the US I most frequently hear "If only I had known"; when I was home in Britain I also heard a variant construction: "Had I but known" which I've almost never heard here in the US.
answered Mar 25 at 19:11
GerardFallaGerardFalla
870111
Gerald, thank you!
– Josh
Mar 25 at 19:30
add a comment |
In the US I most frequently hear "If only I had known"; when I was home in Britain I also heard a variant construction: "Had I but known" which I've almost never heard here in the US.
answered Mar 25 at 19:11
GerardFallaGerardFalla
870111
In the US I most frequently hear "If only I had known"; when I was home in Britain I also heard a variant construction: "Had I but known" which I've almost never heard here in the US.
answered Mar 25 at 19:11
GerardFallaGerardFalla
870111
answered Mar 25 at 19:11
GerardFallaGerardFalla
870111
answered Mar 25 at 19:11
GerardFallaGerardFalla
870111
answered Mar 25 at 19:11
GerardFallaGerardFalla
870111
870111
Gerald, thank you!
– Josh
Mar 25 at 19:30
add a comment |
Gerald, thank you!
– Josh
Mar 25 at 19:30
Gerald, thank you!
– Josh
Mar 25 at 19:30
Gerald, thank you!
– Josh
Mar 25 at 19:30
add a comment |
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The second one is correct; the first one isn't, because subject-auxiliary inversion (had I instead of I had) is not allowed here. It needs something specific in the context -- a fronted adverb, for instance -- in order to happen, and there's none here.
– John Lawler
Mar 25 at 19:15
1
John, thank you!
– Josh
Mar 25 at 19:29