Does this sentence make sense? Please help me out..

happy9527673 · Post by **happy9527673** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 6:37 am

If I waved at him, he waved at me. If he scratched my head, he scratched his head.
This is one of the sentences in the textbook that I'm teaching.
But I don't think we should use "if" in theses sentences as this is not a situation that he or she is assuming or supposing something happening. This is a situation it actually happened.

Do these sentences make sense at all?
Please help me out...TT

Stephen Jones · Post by **Stephen Jones** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 6:53 am

These sentences make perfect sense. The past simple is being used here to describe something that actually happened in the past, which is one of the uses of the past simple

You have been misled into believing that 'if + past simple' can only be used in the so-called second conditionals, to describe a hypothetical possibility in the present. This is one of its uses, but not the only one. 'If' can be used with any tense or modal in pretty well any sense the tense or modal would normally have (there are some restrictions when using 'if' with 'will').

Stephen Jones · Post by **Stephen Jones** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 6:57 am

To make it clearer what it means you can substitute 'when' or 'whenever' for 'if' without a significant change of meaning.

To use the traditional terminology they are zero conditionals in the past.

Andrew Patterson · Post by **Andrew Patterson** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 7:10 am

I second everything Stephen said.

happy wrote:

If I waved at him, he waved at me. If he scratched my head, he scratched his head.

I'm guessing that the book is talking about a mirror, and that it is a children's book. Though shouldn't that be:

If I waved at him, he waved at me. If I scratched my head, he scratched his head.

What book is it, btw? It's nice to know that some textbook are acknowleging the existance of other conditional forms.