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If you answered

 
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BMO



Joined: 19 Feb 2004
Posts: 705

PostPosted: Wed Jan 05, 2005 4:41 pm    Post subject: If you answered Reply with quote

If you answered 8 of the 10 questions correctly, you are a genius.

Is answered - conditional, subjunctive, or simply past tense (from present perfect)?

Is the above sentence same as:

When you have finished the job, you can go home.
When you finished the job, you can go home.

Thanks.
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bud



Joined: 09 Mar 2003
Posts: 2111
Location: New Jersey, US

PostPosted: Thu Jan 06, 2005 11:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi BMO,

"Is answered - conditional, subjunctive, or simply past tense (from present perfect)?"

I think it is simple past and just happens to be in a conditional clause. Present perfect would be, "If you have answered..."

"When you have finished the job, you can go home."

This is not the same form as it is present perfect. Notice, though, that the timeframes are different. In the original sentence, the past is being referred to. In this sentence, the future is being referred to.

"When you finished the job, you can go home."

This is incorrect. It needs to be, "When you finish..." The meaning is the same as your first alternative, although simple present is used instead of present perfect.

Happy New Year!
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BMO



Joined: 19 Feb 2004
Posts: 705

PostPosted: Thu Jan 06, 2005 11:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you answered 8 out of 10 correctly, you are a genius.

1. Can you say this before students taking the test? If so, it is not in the past, it is in the future. Are we saying after students took the test, the fact that they answered the questions becomes a thing in the past?

2. It is not a subjuntion at all, right?

3. If it is referrring to the future, can we say, "If you answer 8 out of 12 ...?"

Thanks.
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bud



Joined: 09 Mar 2003
Posts: 2111
Location: New Jersey, US

PostPosted: Thu Jan 06, 2005 12:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

1. No. If a teacher were to say this while handing out the test, it would be said in the present as, "If you answer..." The past form is used on written tests that are passed around, such as on the internet. That is, the "tester" is not with you when you take the test. So in that case, yes, the statement is presented as if you had already answered the questions and are now checking your score.

2. I'm pretty sure that's correct. I think if it were in the subjunctive, it would be, "If you were to answer... then you would be a genious."

3. Yes, in this situation, that would be the likely way to indicate the immediate future.
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bud



Joined: 09 Mar 2003
Posts: 2111
Location: New Jersey, US

PostPosted: Fri Jan 07, 2005 12:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi BMO,

Another thought...

Where you would see "If you answered..." is, as I said, on a test that is passed around such that the "tester" is not present. What I failed to remember yesterday is where on the test you would see that remark. On those types of tests, there are three sections, each with a small introduction.

The first section is the questions, the second is the answers, and the third is how to grade your results. That (the third section) is where you would see "If you answered..." So, in fact, by the time you read that you have already answered the questions. It makes sense that it is in the simple past.

I hope that makes more sense than my answer yesterday.
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BMO



Joined: 19 Feb 2004
Posts: 705

PostPosted: Mon Jan 10, 2005 10:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes, Bud, I saw "If you answered" in Reader's Digest "Word Test." Yes, it is at the end of the self-written test.

Thanks a lot.

BMO
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bud



Joined: 09 Mar 2003
Posts: 2111
Location: New Jersey, US

PostPosted: Mon Jan 10, 2005 10:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow, I'm impressed! Those tests are hard even for native speakers.
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BMO



Joined: 19 Feb 2004
Posts: 705

PostPosted: Tue Jan 11, 2005 4:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

bud wrote:
Wow, I'm impressed! Those tests are hard even for native speakers.


Oh, no, I don't do very well on those tests. They are hard stuff, but I can't resist not to take the test.

bmo
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bud



Joined: 09 Mar 2003
Posts: 2111
Location: New Jersey, US

PostPosted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 12:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It doesn't matter, BMO. It tells a lot about your great thirst to learn as much as you can.
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