Is ''If I knew, I would have told you" a correct use of conditionals
I was wondering if one could use if + past simple / would + have + past participle.
conditionals
asked Feb 22 at 14:04
JohnJohn
61
bumped to the homepage by Community♦ yesterday
This question has answers that may be good or bad; the system has marked it active so that they can be reviewed.
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I was wondering if one could use if + past simple / would + have + past participle.
conditionals
asked Feb 22 at 14:04
JohnJohn
61
bumped to the homepage by Community♦ yesterday
This question has answers that may be good or bad; the system has marked it active so that they can be reviewed.
This is correct. It is a very good example of usage of conditionals.
– Karlomanio
Feb 22 at 15:30
This sounds weird to me. I would say either "If I knew, I would tell you" or "If I had known, I would have told you." Searching the OP's sentence returns a scholarly paper on nonstandard conditionals: doi:10.2478/rjes-2014-0001 and a few other discussions of the unidiomatic nature of this construction.
– shoover
Feb 22 at 16:51
add a comment |
I was wondering if one could use if + past simple / would + have + past participle.
conditionals
asked Feb 22 at 14:04
JohnJohn
61
I was wondering if one could use if + past simple / would + have + past participle.
conditionals
conditionals
asked Feb 22 at 14:04
JohnJohn
61
asked Feb 22 at 14:04
JohnJohn
61
asked Feb 22 at 14:04
JohnJohn
61
asked Feb 22 at 14:04
JohnJohn
61
asked Feb 22 at 14:04
JohnJohn
61
61
bumped to the homepage by Community♦ yesterday
This question has answers that may be good or bad; the system has marked it active so that they can be reviewed.
bumped to the homepage by Community♦ yesterday
This question has answers that may be good or bad; the system has marked it active so that they can be reviewed.
This is correct. It is a very good example of usage of conditionals.
– Karlomanio
Feb 22 at 15:30
This sounds weird to me. I would say either "If I knew, I would tell you" or "If I had known, I would have told you." Searching the OP's sentence returns a scholarly paper on nonstandard conditionals: doi:10.2478/rjes-2014-0001 and a few other discussions of the unidiomatic nature of this construction.
– shoover
Feb 22 at 16:51
add a comment |
This is correct. It is a very good example of usage of conditionals.
– Karlomanio
Feb 22 at 15:30
This sounds weird to me. I would say either "If I knew, I would tell you" or "If I had known, I would have told you." Searching the OP's sentence returns a scholarly paper on nonstandard conditionals: doi:10.2478/rjes-2014-0001 and a few other discussions of the unidiomatic nature of this construction.
– shoover
Feb 22 at 16:51
This is correct. It is a very good example of usage of conditionals.
– Karlomanio
Feb 22 at 15:30
This is correct. It is a very good example of usage of conditionals.
– Karlomanio
Feb 22 at 15:30
This sounds weird to me. I would say either "If I knew, I would tell you" or "If I had known, I would have told you." Searching the OP's sentence returns a scholarly paper on nonstandard conditionals: doi:10.2478/rjes-2014-0001 and a few other discussions of the unidiomatic nature of this construction.
– shoover
Feb 22 at 16:51
This sounds weird to me. I would say either "If I knew, I would tell you" or "If I had known, I would have told you." Searching the OP's sentence returns a scholarly paper on nonstandard conditionals: doi:10.2478/rjes-2014-0001 and a few other discussions of the unidiomatic nature of this construction.
– shoover
Feb 22 at 16:51
add a comment |
1 Answer
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Yes, you most definitely could.
if + past simple / would + have + past participle.
You have two verbs in the past form (to know and to tell). Therefore, the tense is consistent in the context.
You also begin with a dependent if clause, which is correct. The usage of the auxiliary would in the independent clause is obviously appropriate here as you're using it is a conditional verb.
On another note, would can be replaced with could and might. It will change the meaning, but it's something to keep note of because it is still grammatically correct.
answered Feb 22 at 14:22
Jai AmruthJai Amruth
296
add a comment |
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1 Answer
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active
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votes
Yes, you most definitely could.
if + past simple / would + have + past participle.
You have two verbs in the past form (to know and to tell). Therefore, the tense is consistent in the context.
You also begin with a dependent if clause, which is correct. The usage of the auxiliary would in the independent clause is obviously appropriate here as you're using it is a conditional verb.
On another note, would can be replaced with could and might. It will change the meaning, but it's something to keep note of because it is still grammatically correct.
answered Feb 22 at 14:22
Jai AmruthJai Amruth
296
add a comment |
Yes, you most definitely could.
if + past simple / would + have + past participle.
You have two verbs in the past form (to know and to tell). Therefore, the tense is consistent in the context.
You also begin with a dependent if clause, which is correct. The usage of the auxiliary would in the independent clause is obviously appropriate here as you're using it is a conditional verb.
On another note, would can be replaced with could and might. It will change the meaning, but it's something to keep note of because it is still grammatically correct.
answered Feb 22 at 14:22
Jai AmruthJai Amruth
296
add a comment |
Yes, you most definitely could.
if + past simple / would + have + past participle.
You have two verbs in the past form (to know and to tell). Therefore, the tense is consistent in the context.
You also begin with a dependent if clause, which is correct. The usage of the auxiliary would in the independent clause is obviously appropriate here as you're using it is a conditional verb.
On another note, would can be replaced with could and might. It will change the meaning, but it's something to keep note of because it is still grammatically correct.
answered Feb 22 at 14:22
Jai AmruthJai Amruth
296
Yes, you most definitely could.
if + past simple / would + have + past participle.
You have two verbs in the past form (to know and to tell). Therefore, the tense is consistent in the context.
You also begin with a dependent if clause, which is correct. The usage of the auxiliary would in the independent clause is obviously appropriate here as you're using it is a conditional verb.
On another note, would can be replaced with could and might. It will change the meaning, but it's something to keep note of because it is still grammatically correct.
answered Feb 22 at 14:22
Jai AmruthJai Amruth
296
edited Feb 22 at 14:28
answered Feb 22 at 14:22
Jai AmruthJai Amruth
296
answered Feb 22 at 14:22
Jai AmruthJai Amruth
296
answered Feb 22 at 14:22
Jai AmruthJai Amruth
296
296
add a comment |
add a comment |
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This is correct. It is a very good example of usage of conditionals.
– Karlomanio
Feb 22 at 15:30
This sounds weird to me. I would say either "If I knew, I would tell you" or "If I had known, I would have told you." Searching the OP's sentence returns a scholarly paper on nonstandard conditionals: doi:10.2478/rjes-2014-0001 and a few other discussions of the unidiomatic nature of this construction.
– shoover
Feb 22 at 16:51