An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises

by George Lyman Kittredge; Frank Edgar Farley

FORMS OF CONDITIONS

419. Conditional sentences show great variety of form, but it is easy to classify them according to the time of the supposed case and the degree of doubt that the speaker expresses.

420. Conditions may be present, past, or future.

Present and Past Conditions

421. Present and past conditions may be either (1) non-committal or (2) contrary to fact.

1. A condition is non-committal when it implies nothing as to the truth or falsity of the case supposed.

If James is angry, I am sorry. [Perhaps James is angry, perhaps not.]

2. A condition is contrary to fact when it implies that the supposed case is not or was not true.

If James were angry, I should be sorry. [James is not angry.]

422. In a non-committal present condition, the if-clause[⁴⁴] takes the present indicative; in a non-committal past condition, the past, the perfect, or the pluperfect.