jutfrank
VIP Member
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2014
- Member Type
- English Teacher
- Native Language
- English
- Home Country
- England
- Current Location
- England
Do we still call them 'real past conditionals' even if we have consequences in the present or in the future?
I do, yes. I actually make a living teaching people these things and I've never had a cause to use any other terms. The words 'real' and 'past' are sufficient to describe the condition clause. I don't need to call the main clause anything—I just describe the form and meaning.
Do we need to use the emphatic "did" or we can say "If she robbed..." ?
The did is not 'necessary' but it does do good emphatic work to bifurcate the two possibilities. In speech, it would be stressed to show this.