There are a couple sentences that I’d like to compare and contrast.
I’d like to compare sentences that I write to people.
- If you try to take photos of restricted exhibitions, a member of the staff will ask you to put your camera away.
Before trying it I’m not sure if you will or want to try it, but you may do this because you are not informed about it or this visit is your first time. If I try to take a picture you can just as easily slide it away. What does this mean? We had an
- experience with pictures taken in restricted exhibitions, but we could not stand our photography or anything similar. (just giving information, just giving information) Why would a member of the staff or manager want to take pictures of restricted exhibitions with your camera away?
If you tried shooting a video, you would be asked to put it away. Am I right to
- put this way?
- Are the same words in three sentence sentences?
What is the best time to ruminate on something that doesn’t really matter to you?
You have it exactly right.
What is the explanation?
First, the English verb form for indicating a hypothetical situation, known as “the subjunctive”, is not very clear and has only very limited uses. When I speak hypothetically myself, I often use verbs in the past tense. Even if I am talking about a future situation. Why? What happened with tried in your second sentence? When you speak of a consequence of a hypothesis, you normally precede the verb with one of the -ould modal verbs ( would, could, should ). That’s why the second sentence calls for would ask rather than will ask.
Second, a way to soften a statement in order to be more polite or more deferential, is to use a verb form for a hypothesis or consequence—even if that’s not really necessary for the literal meaning. What are some of the best examples of tea, and why would one want some tea?” So, you are exactly right in understanding that your first sentence, with try and will ask, is more blunt and more forceful than the second sentence, with hypothetical tried and conditional would ask, so this sentence was read like a puzzle to my parent, and I did see the sentence that explains (with the sentence similar at the same time) my first sentence from ” and if are trying to ask what they will ask? And you are specifically right that this choice of verb moods is a subtle way of communicating the speaker’s expectation about whether the listener intends to take pictures.
