sentences

Guest   Wed Jun 06, 2007 10:18 am GMT
<<Are you a native speaker?>>

Yes.

<<If we did something wrong, we will accept the blame.>>

That sentence is fine, but "If we did something which was effective, we will write about it." doesn't sound like something a normal person would say.
Pos   Wed Jun 06, 2007 12:05 pm GMT
<That sentence is fine, but "If we did something which was effective, we will write about it." doesn't sound like something a normal person would say. <

Do you expect to be aware of all the possible sentences used by "normal" speakers everywhere, everyday? And how much experience have you had with "normal" speakers?
furrykef   Wed Jun 06, 2007 2:18 pm GMT
<< Donald: You know you didn't pay the gas bill?
Marge: Are you sure? I thought I had. Well, I'll check, and if I DIDN'T pay it, I WOULD do so tomorrow.

=========
First, I need to make sure whether I have paid or not (I am not 100% sure at the time of speaking), so how can I use "will" construction? >>


I think the choice between "would" and "will" depends on whether the condition or not is hypothetical. In this case, the condition is not hypothetical, so "would" doesn't fit. The condition isn't hypothetical because it's a question of fact: either you paid or you didn't. You're not sure which, but both are possible.

On the other hand, compare a sentence such as "If I were President, I would lower taxes." Here the condition is hypothetical, so we use the subjunctive "were" instead of "was" (although some people, especially Brits, will use "was"), and we use the conditional "would" instead of "will". With "didn't", you don't have to worry about using the subjunctive (because only "be" has a distinct subjunctive form), but you still have to use the conditional for the other verb, so "will" would become "would" if the condition is hypothetical.

On the other hand, I don't like the two sentences in the first post, but that's mostly because it doesn't seem clear from the context that the condition isn't hypothetical. For instance, instead of "If we did something which was effective, we will write about it," I would prefer something like, "If anything we did was effective, we will write about it." However, if the sentence appears in the right context, it might seem perfectly natural the way it was originally written. Sometimes a sentence just doesn't look good in isolation, but will make perfect sense in context.

- Kef
Guest   Wed Jun 06, 2007 10:09 pm GMT
<<Do you expect to be aware of all the possible sentences used by "normal" speakers everywhere, everyday? And how much experience have you had with "normal" speakers?>>

Yes, I do expect that. I expect that I know much more about English than you.
Bridget   Wed Jun 06, 2007 11:49 pm GMT
<Yes, I do expect that.>

No sensible native speaker would expect that.
Bridget   Wed Jun 06, 2007 11:53 pm GMT
<For instance, instead of "If we did something which was effective, we will write about it," I would prefer something like, "If anything we did was effective, we will write about it." >

What would you choose here, and why, Kef?

If we did something to hurt him, we will apologise?
If we did anything to hurt him, we will apologise?
furrykef   Thu Jun 07, 2007 1:45 pm GMT
Hmm... I don't think it matters as much with that particular sentence, because I think the context is clearer. I think I still prefer "anything", but in spontaneous speech I would probably use either form, although I would use "anything" if I wanted extra emphasis (as if to say "anything at all").

- Kef
M56   Thu Jun 07, 2007 2:03 pm GMT
You can use either, Bridget. Depends on what you want to say.

something specific
anything at all