Catalina Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 very Dear Erin Is the following sentence - : "If I saw him, I would have told him." - correct in grammar, formal or informal? Is it correct to use in speakingin American or British English? is it considered correct in TOEFL? tanx a lot :o CATALINA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erin Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 How about this: If I had seen him, I would have told him. (Imagines the opposite of what was true and what could have happened as a result.) The first part of your original sentence is in present tense ("If I saw him..."); if I understand you correctly, we need to talk about the past tense ("If I had seen him..."). Another version would be possible, but it would be quite contrived: If I saw him, I would be telling him. (Supposes you are seeing him now; imagines what you would do in this case.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catalina Posted January 18, 2004 Author Share Posted January 18, 2004 Dear Erin Tanx a lot . u replied so good. But I’m not good at English. yet I’m confused[:o)]. i understand If I had seen him, I would have told him.:) yet I don’t understand why If I saw him, I would have told him is false, while If I saw him, I would be telling him is correct!!!:( Please again lead me it’s important to me. [heartbeat][heartbeat][heartbeat] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erin Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 You're welcome. :) Originally posted by Catalina If I saw him, This part is in the present tense, and should be used right now. Originally posted by Catalina I would have told him This part is in the past tense. Take a look at these examples: If I knew her name (right now), I would tell you (right now). This means I don't know her name (right now), but if I did, I would tell you. But if I'm talking about something that happened in the past, I'd say: If I had known her name (yesterday when you asked me), I would have told you (after you asked me yesterday). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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