Say When?

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brogine
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Say When?

Postby brogine » Thu Jan 05, 2023 3:53 pm

Once again . . . the meaning is perfectly clear, it’s uncluttered, and yet it’s sort of illogical.

Paraphrased from a book I’m reading:
I asked her to walk the dog if I was back late.

I mean, the ‘then’ seems to be preceding the ‘if’.I know - I should get out more - but I’ve developed adoraphobia.

Oh, that’s not a mistake or mistyping. I get so much romantic attention - and not a little of a less sentimental sort - when I’m out that it’s positively scary!

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Slava
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Re: Say When?

Postby Slava » Tue Sep 12, 2023 10:21 pm

Okay, color me confused on this one. What is the 'then' referred to? Is the entire end of the post the quote, or is part of it personal? The bit about walking the dog sounds perfectly normal to me, unless we're talking about a yo-yo.
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.

Audiendus
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Re: Say When?

Postby Audiendus » Wed Sep 13, 2023 2:36 am

I asked her to walk the dog if I was back late.
I think the problem here is that it seems to be grammatically equivalent to:
"If I was back late, I asked her to walk the dog."

where "If I was back late" is the antecedent, and "I asked her to walk the dog" is the consequent. However, if we regard "I asked her" as not part of the conditional construction, and only the infinitive phrase "to walk the dog" as the consequent, it makes sense. Compare:

To sit down if you feel tired is good advice.

So I think the quoted sentence is OK.

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Slava
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Re: Say When?

Postby Slava » Wed Sep 13, 2023 6:06 am

"If I was back late, I asked her to walk the dog."
I actually read this one as a repetitive of past actions, meaning "Any time I came back late, I would ask her to walk the dog".

Thank you for explaining it to me, though. I was looking for the actual word 'then', not the concept.
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.


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