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10 Nov 2021, 04:32
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MayankDimri
Hello MayankDimri,
We hope this finds you well.
Having gone through the question and your query, we believe that we can help resolve your doubt.
There is no issue with the construction of this sentence. "would" can be used as a helping verb for the simple future tense, preferably in hypothetical or conditional cases, and the simple present tense can be used in a conditional clause to refer to a possible future action.
We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
08 Sep 2022, 10:20
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I have a question regarding the 2nd part of the clause. Shouldn't the verb be "will" instead of "would" since it's a part of conditional statement that has a simple present tense verb (countermands)?
09 Sep 2022, 13:14
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gmatbd
You are correct!
For conditional (IF/THEN) statements about potential future events, there are two different workable pairings of tenses:
• IF + [looks like PRESENT tense] , THEN + ["WILL + verb"]
By using this pair of constructions, the writer implies that the probability of the "IF" part is not particularly now (could be anywhere from moderate to nearly certain).
Please be aware: NO proper English sentence will EVER contain "IF" + clause with "WILL + verb"!!
This is just a weird quirk of the English language. The corresponding structure in the vast majority of other Indo-European languages is, in fact, written with the actual future tense after "if".
Here in English, though, the future timeframe is simply implied. (That's definitely a solid implication, as any event that could still go this-way or that-way (thus making "IF" sentences meaningful) clearly still lies in the future!)
• IF + [SUBJUNCTIVE] , THEN + ["WOULD + verb"]
This pairing is used for lower-probability events. It can also be used for speculative situations that are actually impossible—and even for counterfactual hypothetical situations that contravene current reality.
Here,
——"Subjunctive" will look the same as the past tense, EXCEPT in the case of "were". The subjunctive form is ALWAYS "were", even for a singular subject.
——The consequential part is formulated as "WOULD + verb" in precisely the same way it would be formulated as "WILL + verb" by a writer who chooses the first pairing.
