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Sat 1 Feb, 2014 12:29 pm
Hi, I've got a quick grammar question. There's this quote someone on the internet posted, "Would you cry if I wasn't here anymore?", is it grammatically correct? Well, I know it is, but someone commented that it wasn't, and suggested that the correct sentence should be, "Would you have cried if I wasn't here anymore?". I know that that one is incorrect since "have cried" is future perfect tense, and it should be "will" instead of "would". So, it should be, "Will you have cried if I wasn't here anymore?", right? Which one is correct? Is the original quote correct? Or are they both correct? Or only one is correct? Or none of them are correct? Which is the correct sentence? Please reply, and explain. This is really messing up with my brain, and plus, I'm drunk, so. Urgent reply needed ---so, I could finally sleep. Hahaha. Thank you in advance.
@wayfaringshaman,
First off, don't drink and parse.
Now, for the rest of it. Looks like what you've got is an
unreal conditional.
You're right about
cry, it seems. But the second clause actually should be
I weren't. Recognize that colloquial English these days has lots of wiggle room, so I wasn't versus I weren't is generally not an issue - most of the time you'll be fine with either. But yeah, the
have cried versus
cry business is a change in tense and alters the overall meaning of the sentence, to something that has already happened, rather than a future possibility.
I hope this helps; this is confusing even when you're sober.
@jespah,
Thanks for the quick reply ---well, that was quick to me.
It helped a lot. But, last question, though..
Was I correct with the 'will you have'?
'Will you have' or 'would you have'?
This is confusing.
@jespah,
"Will you have cried if I wasn't here anymore?" "Will" seems to entail an ongoing act or one expected. For instance, will you be done changing the oil before next Friday? whereas "would" seems to fit better as past tense
It's a very subtle difference
@dalehileman,
I think this is right or close to right. Will implies an actuality; would implies a conditional (e. g. it might or might not happen).
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