“If he were” vs “if he had been”
1.if he were my brother,i would have helped him.
2.if he had been my brother,i would have helped him.
Are both of them correct?
What speaker wants to convey is unreal past condition and past result.ao for that we should use 3rd conditional.but first sentence is written in my textbook.
So now, I am confused.
grammar
asked Dec 18 at 14:06
Manish Kumar Balayan
214
add a comment |
1.if he were my brother,i would have helped him.
2.if he had been my brother,i would have helped him.
Are both of them correct?
What speaker wants to convey is unreal past condition and past result.ao for that we should use 3rd conditional.but first sentence is written in my textbook.
So now, I am confused.
grammar
asked Dec 18 at 14:06
Manish Kumar Balayan
214
add a comment |
1.if he were my brother,i would have helped him.
2.if he had been my brother,i would have helped him.
Are both of them correct?
What speaker wants to convey is unreal past condition and past result.ao for that we should use 3rd conditional.but first sentence is written in my textbook.
So now, I am confused.
grammar
asked Dec 18 at 14:06
Manish Kumar Balayan
214
1.if he were my brother,i would have helped him.
2.if he had been my brother,i would have helped him.
Are both of them correct?
What speaker wants to convey is unreal past condition and past result.ao for that we should use 3rd conditional.but first sentence is written in my textbook.
So now, I am confused.
grammar
grammar
asked Dec 18 at 14:06
Manish Kumar Balayan
214
asked Dec 18 at 14:06
Manish Kumar Balayan
214
asked Dec 18 at 14:06
Manish Kumar Balayan
214
asked Dec 18 at 14:06
Manish Kumar Balayan
214
asked Dec 18 at 14:06
Manish Kumar Balayan
214
214
add a comment |
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
The key is the sequence of events, and the point to remember is the fact that being someone's brother does not change over time (apart from some specific circumstances).
Normally the second sentence would be correct - the events have happened in the past, and therefore you would use:
If he had been my brother, I would have helped him
However, if he had been your brother he would still be your brother now. Therefore, using the first form is still OK:
If he were my brother (now, and presumably at the time of the events too), I would have helped him
It wouldn't work, for instance, where the events are limited to a timeframe:
If he had been thirsty I would have given him some water
You can easily see that him being thirsty now would have no bearing on giving him water in the past.
answered Dec 18 at 16:08
microenzo
3516
add a comment |
In my opinion and the references I usually consult, both are grammatically correct.
There is a very subtle difference in the sense of time. In the first case, one is stating a condition of unreality, and an action in the past: He's not my brother, but if he were my brother, I would have helped him (then)."
In the second case, there is some additional emphasis on the discovery of the person's identity occurring in the past. ("I thought it was my brother, but then I found out he wasn't. If he had been my brother...."). This phrasing is also used in a comparison to someone else's actions in the past: "John wouldn't help Bob at all. If (Bob) had been my brother, I would have helped him."
In both cases, the meaning is nearly identical. Also, the sentence can be written using the subjunctive (were) with a present-tense conditional: "I he were my brother, I would help him."
answered Dec 18 at 15:53
user8356
95947
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "97"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f477634%2fif-he-were-vs-if-he-had-been%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
The key is the sequence of events, and the point to remember is the fact that being someone's brother does not change over time (apart from some specific circumstances).
Normally the second sentence would be correct - the events have happened in the past, and therefore you would use:
If he had been my brother, I would have helped him
However, if he had been your brother he would still be your brother now. Therefore, using the first form is still OK:
If he were my brother (now, and presumably at the time of the events too), I would have helped him
It wouldn't work, for instance, where the events are limited to a timeframe:
If he had been thirsty I would have given him some water
You can easily see that him being thirsty now would have no bearing on giving him water in the past.
answered Dec 18 at 16:08
microenzo
3516
add a comment |
The key is the sequence of events, and the point to remember is the fact that being someone's brother does not change over time (apart from some specific circumstances).
Normally the second sentence would be correct - the events have happened in the past, and therefore you would use:
If he had been my brother, I would have helped him
However, if he had been your brother he would still be your brother now. Therefore, using the first form is still OK:
If he were my brother (now, and presumably at the time of the events too), I would have helped him
It wouldn't work, for instance, where the events are limited to a timeframe:
If he had been thirsty I would have given him some water
You can easily see that him being thirsty now would have no bearing on giving him water in the past.
answered Dec 18 at 16:08
microenzo
3516
add a comment |
The key is the sequence of events, and the point to remember is the fact that being someone's brother does not change over time (apart from some specific circumstances).
Normally the second sentence would be correct - the events have happened in the past, and therefore you would use:
If he had been my brother, I would have helped him
However, if he had been your brother he would still be your brother now. Therefore, using the first form is still OK:
If he were my brother (now, and presumably at the time of the events too), I would have helped him
It wouldn't work, for instance, where the events are limited to a timeframe:
If he had been thirsty I would have given him some water
You can easily see that him being thirsty now would have no bearing on giving him water in the past.
answered Dec 18 at 16:08
microenzo
3516
The key is the sequence of events, and the point to remember is the fact that being someone's brother does not change over time (apart from some specific circumstances).
Normally the second sentence would be correct - the events have happened in the past, and therefore you would use:
If he had been my brother, I would have helped him
However, if he had been your brother he would still be your brother now. Therefore, using the first form is still OK:
If he were my brother (now, and presumably at the time of the events too), I would have helped him
It wouldn't work, for instance, where the events are limited to a timeframe:
If he had been thirsty I would have given him some water
You can easily see that him being thirsty now would have no bearing on giving him water in the past.
answered Dec 18 at 16:08
microenzo
3516
answered Dec 18 at 16:08
microenzo
3516
answered Dec 18 at 16:08
microenzo
3516
answered Dec 18 at 16:08
microenzo
3516
3516
add a comment |
add a comment |
In my opinion and the references I usually consult, both are grammatically correct.
There is a very subtle difference in the sense of time. In the first case, one is stating a condition of unreality, and an action in the past: He's not my brother, but if he were my brother, I would have helped him (then)."
In the second case, there is some additional emphasis on the discovery of the person's identity occurring in the past. ("I thought it was my brother, but then I found out he wasn't. If he had been my brother...."). This phrasing is also used in a comparison to someone else's actions in the past: "John wouldn't help Bob at all. If (Bob) had been my brother, I would have helped him."
In both cases, the meaning is nearly identical. Also, the sentence can be written using the subjunctive (were) with a present-tense conditional: "I he were my brother, I would help him."
answered Dec 18 at 15:53
user8356
95947
add a comment |
In my opinion and the references I usually consult, both are grammatically correct.
There is a very subtle difference in the sense of time. In the first case, one is stating a condition of unreality, and an action in the past: He's not my brother, but if he were my brother, I would have helped him (then)."
In the second case, there is some additional emphasis on the discovery of the person's identity occurring in the past. ("I thought it was my brother, but then I found out he wasn't. If he had been my brother...."). This phrasing is also used in a comparison to someone else's actions in the past: "John wouldn't help Bob at all. If (Bob) had been my brother, I would have helped him."
In both cases, the meaning is nearly identical. Also, the sentence can be written using the subjunctive (were) with a present-tense conditional: "I he were my brother, I would help him."
answered Dec 18 at 15:53
user8356
95947
add a comment |
In my opinion and the references I usually consult, both are grammatically correct.
There is a very subtle difference in the sense of time. In the first case, one is stating a condition of unreality, and an action in the past: He's not my brother, but if he were my brother, I would have helped him (then)."
In the second case, there is some additional emphasis on the discovery of the person's identity occurring in the past. ("I thought it was my brother, but then I found out he wasn't. If he had been my brother...."). This phrasing is also used in a comparison to someone else's actions in the past: "John wouldn't help Bob at all. If (Bob) had been my brother, I would have helped him."
In both cases, the meaning is nearly identical. Also, the sentence can be written using the subjunctive (were) with a present-tense conditional: "I he were my brother, I would help him."
answered Dec 18 at 15:53
user8356
95947
In my opinion and the references I usually consult, both are grammatically correct.
There is a very subtle difference in the sense of time. In the first case, one is stating a condition of unreality, and an action in the past: He's not my brother, but if he were my brother, I would have helped him (then)."
In the second case, there is some additional emphasis on the discovery of the person's identity occurring in the past. ("I thought it was my brother, but then I found out he wasn't. If he had been my brother...."). This phrasing is also used in a comparison to someone else's actions in the past: "John wouldn't help Bob at all. If (Bob) had been my brother, I would have helped him."
In both cases, the meaning is nearly identical. Also, the sentence can be written using the subjunctive (were) with a present-tense conditional: "I he were my brother, I would help him."
answered Dec 18 at 15:53
user8356
95947
answered Dec 18 at 15:53
user8356
95947
answered Dec 18 at 15:53
user8356
95947
answered Dec 18 at 15:53
user8356
95947
95947
add a comment |
add a comment |
Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language & Usage Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Some of your past answers have not been well-received, and you're in danger of being blocked from answering.
Please pay close attention to the following guidance:
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f477634%2fif-he-were-vs-if-he-had-been%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
