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ESL forum > Grammar and Linguistics > continuous tense in conditionals?????????????????????    

continuous tense in conditionals?????????????????????



Panteleimon
Greece

continuous tense in conditionals?????????????????????
 
can someone explain to me what �s the purpose of using -ing if clauses or -ing in main clauses of conditionals?
e.g.
If I were you, I would be spending my vacation in Seattle.

If I weren �t flying to Detroit, I would have planned a trip to Vancouver.

If I were taking this exam next week, I would be high-strung.
if he hadn �t been driving fast, he wouldn �t have crashed.

i mean what �s the use of continuous tense in if-clauses or main clauses of conditionals?

2 Mar 2010      





lshorton99
China

It �s same as when we use the continuous form in non-conditional sentences.

Think about the future continuous - we would be more likely to say �I will be spending my vacation in Seattle � than �I will spend my vacation in Seattke. The continuous indicates the duration - in this case of a future event. This same indication of duration translates to conditionals.

�I wasn �t flying to Detroit � instead of �I didn �t fly to Detroit � indicates the same difference - the continuous is used to emphasis the duration of the action and how the action (flying) is more important than the result, or given more emphasis than the result (getting to Detroit.) This difference again, translates to the conditional.

etc.

I hope this helps - basically, what I mean is that the rules we apply to the use of tenses still apply when those tense are used in conditional sentences!

Have a lovely day!

2 Mar 2010     



Panteleimon
Greece

thanks!!! i thought it would be the same thing just wanted to make sure....
but it is quite unusual as an efl linguistic item in FCE tests...????

2 Mar 2010     



serene
Greece

I agree with Ishorton99.
 
Perhaps it �s easy to understand if you consider what the situation is in each case :
You are not spending your vacation in Seattle, but ...
If I were you, I would be spending my vacation in Seattle.
 
I am flying to Detroit, but ...
If I weren �t flying to Detroit, I would have planned a trip to Vancouver.
 
I am not taking this exam next week, but ...
If I were taking this exam next week, I would be high-strung.
 
He had been driving fast, but ...
If he hadn �t been driving fast, he wouldn �t have crashed.
 
I hope this explains the use of the continuous in these sentenses.
 
 

2 Mar 2010