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Updated on
30 Jul 2021
- Russian Near fluent
- Ukrainian
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English (US)
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French (France)
Question about English (US)
is it correct "If she hadn't wanted to say it, she wouldn't have mentioned it"?
is it correct "If she hadn't wanted to say it, she wouldn't have mentioned it"?
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Obviously wrong
Explanation is not enough
Written in a language I can't understand
Answer is not related to the question
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- Russian Near fluent
- Ukrainian
thanks ) Is there any more natural way to say it? What about "if she didn't want to say it, she wouldn't have mentioned it"?
- English (UK)
- English (US)
@keepupwithmeDiana This is a little tricky. To me, the second sentence actually sounds more natural to say out loud. After some researching, I think both are grammatically correct; it’s just that the nuance is different.
To simplify things, let’s get rid of the negatives (oops I changed the verb too but it’s the same thing):
1. Third conditional - if she had wanted to do it, she would have done it
2. Mixed conditional - if she wanted to do it, she would have done it
I think the difference is how /in the past/ the “wanting” is. The first one is “she did not want to do it then, in the past, so she did not do it” whereas the second one is “she did not want to do it then in the past and she still does not want to do it now in the present, since she has still not done it yet”. In other words, she would have done it *by now*.
I’ve not formally studied grammar though so take this with a grain of salt.
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oh, so as I see it, the difference here is between third and mixed conditional. The second sentence actually sounded more natural to me as well, but I just didn't know if it's correct. Thank you for clearing it up for me, btw.
But I still have some questions. First, you said "To me, the second sentence actually sounds more natural to say out loud". Does it mean natives prefer to use mixed conditional instead of third conditional? (Maybe third conditional sounds very grammatically correct and it makes it not that natural ). And the next question is if I have made any mistakes in my messages.
Thank you in advance 😊
But I still have some questions. First, you said "To me, the second sentence actually sounds more natural to say out loud". Does it mean natives prefer to use mixed conditional instead of third conditional? (Maybe third conditional sounds very grammatically correct and it makes it not that natural ). And the next question is if I have made any mistakes in my messages.
Thank you in advance 😊
- English (UK)
- English (US)
@keepupwithmeDiana I think it depends on the scenario, and whether it makes sense for the condition to be present and the result to be past.
Where it wouldn’t make sense (so both unnatural & grammatically incorrect):
- if she studied for the test, she would’ve passed (the test has already happened, so the potential studying cannot be in the present. So it should be if she HAD studied…, or more naturally “if she’d studied”)
Other examples where it DOES make sense to have mixed:
1. If he was a nicer person, he wouldn’t have stolen your money!
2. If my leg wasn’t sore, I’d have joined you on the hike.
From https://www.progressive-english.ch/third-condit...
I think it’s weird to have #1 in third conditional because the state of being a nice person is something that would continue to the present (unless the person is dead or something). On the other hand, with #2, you can change it to third conditional and change the meaning (so your leg is fine now)
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@keepupwithmeDiana as for your messages - they’re mostly fine.
Suggestions:
Is it correct “ “ > is this correct “ “ OR is it correct to say….
Maybe third conditional sounds very grammatically correct and it makes it not that natural > maybe third conditional sounds overly grammatically correct and thus not very natural
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