Use of “if” and “can”?
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Is this a correct sentence? And if not, why?
We cannot expect reasonable results if the condition is not satisfied.
grammar conditional-future
edited Apr 26 '14 at 15:29
anongoodnurse
51k14108191
asked Apr 26 '14 at 13:33
user73271user73271
41
add a comment |
Is this a correct sentence? And if not, why?
We cannot expect reasonable results if the condition is not satisfied.
grammar conditional-future
edited Apr 26 '14 at 15:29
anongoodnurse
51k14108191
asked Apr 26 '14 at 13:33
user73271user73271
41
1
What alternatives are you considering??
– Gary's Student
Apr 26 '14 at 13:38
1
With no context and no source for the sentence, nobody can say. Contrary to what your English teacher may have taught you, sentences do not exist out of context, and grammaticality is not absolute. Who is saying this sentence? Is the speaker a native speaker? Why would you suspect it is not grammatical? Why ask about "can" and "if"? Why not "reasonable" or "condition" or "satisfied"?
– John Lawler
Apr 26 '14 at 14:33
add a comment |
Is this a correct sentence? And if not, why?
We cannot expect reasonable results if the condition is not satisfied.
grammar conditional-future
edited Apr 26 '14 at 15:29
anongoodnurse
51k14108191
asked Apr 26 '14 at 13:33
user73271user73271
41
Is this a correct sentence? And if not, why?
We cannot expect reasonable results if the condition is not satisfied.
grammar conditional-future
grammar conditional-future
edited Apr 26 '14 at 15:29
anongoodnurse
51k14108191
asked Apr 26 '14 at 13:33
user73271user73271
41
edited Apr 26 '14 at 15:29
anongoodnurse
51k14108191
asked Apr 26 '14 at 13:33
user73271user73271
41
edited Apr 26 '14 at 15:29
anongoodnurse
51k14108191
edited Apr 26 '14 at 15:29
anongoodnurse
51k14108191
edited Apr 26 '14 at 15:29
anongoodnurse
51k14108191
51k14108191
asked Apr 26 '14 at 13:33
user73271user73271
41
asked Apr 26 '14 at 13:33
user73271user73271
41
asked Apr 26 '14 at 13:33
user73271user73271
41
41
1
What alternatives are you considering??
– Gary's Student
Apr 26 '14 at 13:38
1
With no context and no source for the sentence, nobody can say. Contrary to what your English teacher may have taught you, sentences do not exist out of context, and grammaticality is not absolute. Who is saying this sentence? Is the speaker a native speaker? Why would you suspect it is not grammatical? Why ask about "can" and "if"? Why not "reasonable" or "condition" or "satisfied"?
– John Lawler
Apr 26 '14 at 14:33
add a comment |
1
What alternatives are you considering??
– Gary's Student
Apr 26 '14 at 13:38
1
With no context and no source for the sentence, nobody can say. Contrary to what your English teacher may have taught you, sentences do not exist out of context, and grammaticality is not absolute. Who is saying this sentence? Is the speaker a native speaker? Why would you suspect it is not grammatical? Why ask about "can" and "if"? Why not "reasonable" or "condition" or "satisfied"?
– John Lawler
Apr 26 '14 at 14:33
1
1
What alternatives are you considering??
– Gary's Student
Apr 26 '14 at 13:38
What alternatives are you considering??
– Gary's Student
Apr 26 '14 at 13:38
1
1
With no context and no source for the sentence, nobody can say. Contrary to what your English teacher may have taught you, sentences do not exist out of context, and grammaticality is not absolute. Who is saying this sentence? Is the speaker a native speaker? Why would you suspect it is not grammatical? Why ask about "can" and "if"? Why not "reasonable" or "condition" or "satisfied"?
– John Lawler
Apr 26 '14 at 14:33
With no context and no source for the sentence, nobody can say. Contrary to what your English teacher may have taught you, sentences do not exist out of context, and grammaticality is not absolute. Who is saying this sentence? Is the speaker a native speaker? Why would you suspect it is not grammatical? Why ask about "can" and "if"? Why not "reasonable" or "condition" or "satisfied"?
– John Lawler
Apr 26 '14 at 14:33
add a comment |
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
I believe (perhaps erroneously) that you are thinking of conditional sentences with the construction if + would, could, will, and that the can instead of could is throwing you off.
Those are far from the only instances in which if can be used. We can also use if when expressing a factual statement. (you can argue there is an implied will in these statements)
If the sun shines all day, it gets hot.
If you bungee-jump off this cliff, we cannot guarantee your survival.
If the condition is not satisfied, we cannot expect reasonable results.
Rearranging the latter,
We cannot expect reasonable results if the condition is not satisfied.
It is perfectly fine grammatically.
answered Apr 26 '14 at 15:26
anongoodnurseanongoodnurse
51k14108191
add a comment |
We can not expect reasonable results if the syllabus is not satisfied. If and can is used to indicate present simple tense
This sentense is grammatically correct and plural form
answered yesterday
Robert Motari OntiriRobert Motari Ontiri
11
New contributor
Robert Motari Ontiri is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
This is the third answer you have posted. You should fix the previous two, I have no option but to protect the question now. Why have you substituted "condition" with "syllabus"? You have changed the meaning of the sentence.
– Mari-Lou A
yesterday
By the way, the answer is also grammatically incorrect because the noun "result" should be plural. See also the original sentence. If there is only one result expected then it should be preceded with the quantitative "any". We can not expect any reasonable result/s…
– Mari-Lou A
yesterday
add a comment |
other example :
we can not expect reasonable results if the syllabus is not satisfied. present simple tense in plural form.
It is grammatically correct.
answered 2 days ago
Robert Motari OntiriRobert Motari Ontiri
11
New contributor
Robert Motari Ontiri is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
1
Is this correct? If so why? Answers should include explanations.
– KillingTime
2 days ago
1
Why did you replace "condition" with "syllabus". Are you saying the OP's sentence is grammatical or not? There is no explanation, and no answer to the problem posed.
– Mari-Lou A
2 days ago
1
Welcome to Stack Exchange. It would appear that you have accidentally created two accounts. This will interfere with commenting and editing your own posts. You should use the contact form and select ‘‘I need to merge user profiles’’ to have your accounts merged. In order to merge them, you will need to provide links to the two accounts. For your information, these are english.stackexchange.com/users/342706/robert-ontiri and english.stackexchange.com/users/342699/robert-motari-ontiri.
– Scott
2 days ago
add a comment |
protected by Mari-Lou A yesterday
Thank you for your interest in this question.
Because it has attracted low-quality or spam answers that had to be removed, posting an answer now requires 10 reputation on this site (the association bonus does not count).
Would you like to answer one of these unanswered questions instead?
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
I believe (perhaps erroneously) that you are thinking of conditional sentences with the construction if + would, could, will, and that the can instead of could is throwing you off.
Those are far from the only instances in which if can be used. We can also use if when expressing a factual statement. (you can argue there is an implied will in these statements)
If the sun shines all day, it gets hot.
If you bungee-jump off this cliff, we cannot guarantee your survival.
If the condition is not satisfied, we cannot expect reasonable results.
Rearranging the latter,
We cannot expect reasonable results if the condition is not satisfied.
It is perfectly fine grammatically.
answered Apr 26 '14 at 15:26
anongoodnurseanongoodnurse
51k14108191
add a comment |
I believe (perhaps erroneously) that you are thinking of conditional sentences with the construction if + would, could, will, and that the can instead of could is throwing you off.
Those are far from the only instances in which if can be used. We can also use if when expressing a factual statement. (you can argue there is an implied will in these statements)
If the sun shines all day, it gets hot.
If you bungee-jump off this cliff, we cannot guarantee your survival.
If the condition is not satisfied, we cannot expect reasonable results.
Rearranging the latter,
We cannot expect reasonable results if the condition is not satisfied.
It is perfectly fine grammatically.
answered Apr 26 '14 at 15:26
anongoodnurseanongoodnurse
51k14108191
add a comment |
I believe (perhaps erroneously) that you are thinking of conditional sentences with the construction if + would, could, will, and that the can instead of could is throwing you off.
Those are far from the only instances in which if can be used. We can also use if when expressing a factual statement. (you can argue there is an implied will in these statements)
If the sun shines all day, it gets hot.
If you bungee-jump off this cliff, we cannot guarantee your survival.
If the condition is not satisfied, we cannot expect reasonable results.
Rearranging the latter,
We cannot expect reasonable results if the condition is not satisfied.
It is perfectly fine grammatically.
answered Apr 26 '14 at 15:26
anongoodnurseanongoodnurse
51k14108191
I believe (perhaps erroneously) that you are thinking of conditional sentences with the construction if + would, could, will, and that the can instead of could is throwing you off.
Those are far from the only instances in which if can be used. We can also use if when expressing a factual statement. (you can argue there is an implied will in these statements)
If the sun shines all day, it gets hot.
If you bungee-jump off this cliff, we cannot guarantee your survival.
If the condition is not satisfied, we cannot expect reasonable results.
Rearranging the latter,
We cannot expect reasonable results if the condition is not satisfied.
It is perfectly fine grammatically.
answered Apr 26 '14 at 15:26
anongoodnurseanongoodnurse
51k14108191
answered Apr 26 '14 at 15:26
anongoodnurseanongoodnurse
51k14108191
answered Apr 26 '14 at 15:26
anongoodnurseanongoodnurse
51k14108191
answered Apr 26 '14 at 15:26
anongoodnurseanongoodnurse
51k14108191
51k14108191
add a comment |
add a comment |
We can not expect reasonable results if the syllabus is not satisfied. If and can is used to indicate present simple tense
This sentense is grammatically correct and plural form
answered yesterday
Robert Motari OntiriRobert Motari Ontiri
11
New contributor
Robert Motari Ontiri is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
This is the third answer you have posted. You should fix the previous two, I have no option but to protect the question now. Why have you substituted "condition" with "syllabus"? You have changed the meaning of the sentence.
– Mari-Lou A
yesterday
By the way, the answer is also grammatically incorrect because the noun "result" should be plural. See also the original sentence. If there is only one result expected then it should be preceded with the quantitative "any". We can not expect any reasonable result/s…
– Mari-Lou A
yesterday
add a comment |
We can not expect reasonable results if the syllabus is not satisfied. If and can is used to indicate present simple tense
This sentense is grammatically correct and plural form
answered yesterday
Robert Motari OntiriRobert Motari Ontiri
11
New contributor
Robert Motari Ontiri is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
This is the third answer you have posted. You should fix the previous two, I have no option but to protect the question now. Why have you substituted "condition" with "syllabus"? You have changed the meaning of the sentence.
– Mari-Lou A
yesterday
By the way, the answer is also grammatically incorrect because the noun "result" should be plural. See also the original sentence. If there is only one result expected then it should be preceded with the quantitative "any". We can not expect any reasonable result/s…
– Mari-Lou A
yesterday
add a comment |
We can not expect reasonable results if the syllabus is not satisfied. If and can is used to indicate present simple tense
This sentense is grammatically correct and plural form
answered yesterday
Robert Motari OntiriRobert Motari Ontiri
11
New contributor
Robert Motari Ontiri is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
We can not expect reasonable results if the syllabus is not satisfied. If and can is used to indicate present simple tense
This sentense is grammatically correct and plural form
answered yesterday
Robert Motari OntiriRobert Motari Ontiri
11
New contributor
Robert Motari Ontiri is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 8 hours ago
answered yesterday
Robert Motari OntiriRobert Motari Ontiri
11
New contributor
Robert Motari Ontiri is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered yesterday
Robert Motari OntiriRobert Motari Ontiri
11
answered yesterday
Robert Motari OntiriRobert Motari Ontiri
11
11
New contributor
Robert Motari Ontiri is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Robert Motari Ontiri is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Robert Motari Ontiri is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
This is the third answer you have posted. You should fix the previous two, I have no option but to protect the question now. Why have you substituted "condition" with "syllabus"? You have changed the meaning of the sentence.
– Mari-Lou A
yesterday
By the way, the answer is also grammatically incorrect because the noun "result" should be plural. See also the original sentence. If there is only one result expected then it should be preceded with the quantitative "any". We can not expect any reasonable result/s…
– Mari-Lou A
yesterday
add a comment |
This is the third answer you have posted. You should fix the previous two, I have no option but to protect the question now. Why have you substituted "condition" with "syllabus"? You have changed the meaning of the sentence.
– Mari-Lou A
yesterday
By the way, the answer is also grammatically incorrect because the noun "result" should be plural. See also the original sentence. If there is only one result expected then it should be preceded with the quantitative "any". We can not expect any reasonable result/s…
– Mari-Lou A
yesterday
This is the third answer you have posted. You should fix the previous two, I have no option but to protect the question now. Why have you substituted "condition" with "syllabus"? You have changed the meaning of the sentence.
– Mari-Lou A
yesterday
This is the third answer you have posted. You should fix the previous two, I have no option but to protect the question now. Why have you substituted "condition" with "syllabus"? You have changed the meaning of the sentence.
– Mari-Lou A
yesterday
By the way, the answer is also grammatically incorrect because the noun "result" should be plural. See also the original sentence. If there is only one result expected then it should be preceded with the quantitative "any". We can not expect any reasonable result/s…
– Mari-Lou A
yesterday
By the way, the answer is also grammatically incorrect because the noun "result" should be plural. See also the original sentence. If there is only one result expected then it should be preceded with the quantitative "any". We can not expect any reasonable result/s…
– Mari-Lou A
yesterday
add a comment |
other example :
we can not expect reasonable results if the syllabus is not satisfied. present simple tense in plural form.
It is grammatically correct.
answered 2 days ago
Robert Motari OntiriRobert Motari Ontiri
11
New contributor
Robert Motari Ontiri is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
1
Is this correct? If so why? Answers should include explanations.
– KillingTime
2 days ago
1
Why did you replace "condition" with "syllabus". Are you saying the OP's sentence is grammatical or not? There is no explanation, and no answer to the problem posed.
– Mari-Lou A
2 days ago
1
Welcome to Stack Exchange. It would appear that you have accidentally created two accounts. This will interfere with commenting and editing your own posts. You should use the contact form and select ‘‘I need to merge user profiles’’ to have your accounts merged. In order to merge them, you will need to provide links to the two accounts. For your information, these are english.stackexchange.com/users/342706/robert-ontiri and english.stackexchange.com/users/342699/robert-motari-ontiri.
– Scott
2 days ago
add a comment |
other example :
we can not expect reasonable results if the syllabus is not satisfied. present simple tense in plural form.
It is grammatically correct.
answered 2 days ago
Robert Motari OntiriRobert Motari Ontiri
11
New contributor
Robert Motari Ontiri is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
1
Is this correct? If so why? Answers should include explanations.
– KillingTime
2 days ago
1
Why did you replace "condition" with "syllabus". Are you saying the OP's sentence is grammatical or not? There is no explanation, and no answer to the problem posed.
– Mari-Lou A
2 days ago
1
Welcome to Stack Exchange. It would appear that you have accidentally created two accounts. This will interfere with commenting and editing your own posts. You should use the contact form and select ‘‘I need to merge user profiles’’ to have your accounts merged. In order to merge them, you will need to provide links to the two accounts. For your information, these are english.stackexchange.com/users/342706/robert-ontiri and english.stackexchange.com/users/342699/robert-motari-ontiri.
– Scott
2 days ago
add a comment |
other example :
we can not expect reasonable results if the syllabus is not satisfied. present simple tense in plural form.
It is grammatically correct.
answered 2 days ago
Robert Motari OntiriRobert Motari Ontiri
11
New contributor
Robert Motari Ontiri is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
other example :
we can not expect reasonable results if the syllabus is not satisfied. present simple tense in plural form.
It is grammatically correct.
answered 2 days ago
Robert Motari OntiriRobert Motari Ontiri
11
New contributor
Robert Motari Ontiri is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 4 hours ago
answered 2 days ago
Robert Motari OntiriRobert Motari Ontiri
11
New contributor
Robert Motari Ontiri is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 2 days ago
Robert Motari OntiriRobert Motari Ontiri
11
answered 2 days ago
Robert Motari OntiriRobert Motari Ontiri
11
11
New contributor
Robert Motari Ontiri is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Robert Motari Ontiri is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Robert Motari Ontiri is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
1
Is this correct? If so why? Answers should include explanations.
– KillingTime
2 days ago
1
Why did you replace "condition" with "syllabus". Are you saying the OP's sentence is grammatical or not? There is no explanation, and no answer to the problem posed.
– Mari-Lou A
2 days ago
1
Welcome to Stack Exchange. It would appear that you have accidentally created two accounts. This will interfere with commenting and editing your own posts. You should use the contact form and select ‘‘I need to merge user profiles’’ to have your accounts merged. In order to merge them, you will need to provide links to the two accounts. For your information, these are english.stackexchange.com/users/342706/robert-ontiri and english.stackexchange.com/users/342699/robert-motari-ontiri.
– Scott
2 days ago
add a comment |
1
Is this correct? If so why? Answers should include explanations.
– KillingTime
2 days ago
1
Why did you replace "condition" with "syllabus". Are you saying the OP's sentence is grammatical or not? There is no explanation, and no answer to the problem posed.
– Mari-Lou A
2 days ago
1
Welcome to Stack Exchange. It would appear that you have accidentally created two accounts. This will interfere with commenting and editing your own posts. You should use the contact form and select ‘‘I need to merge user profiles’’ to have your accounts merged. In order to merge them, you will need to provide links to the two accounts. For your information, these are english.stackexchange.com/users/342706/robert-ontiri and english.stackexchange.com/users/342699/robert-motari-ontiri.
– Scott
2 days ago
1
1
Is this correct? If so why? Answers should include explanations.
– KillingTime
2 days ago
Is this correct? If so why? Answers should include explanations.
– KillingTime
2 days ago
1
1
Why did you replace "condition" with "syllabus". Are you saying the OP's sentence is grammatical or not? There is no explanation, and no answer to the problem posed.
– Mari-Lou A
2 days ago
Why did you replace "condition" with "syllabus". Are you saying the OP's sentence is grammatical or not? There is no explanation, and no answer to the problem posed.
– Mari-Lou A
2 days ago
1
1
Welcome to Stack Exchange. It would appear that you have accidentally created two accounts. This will interfere with commenting and editing your own posts. You should use the contact form and select ‘‘I need to merge user profiles’’ to have your accounts merged. In order to merge them, you will need to provide links to the two accounts. For your information, these are english.stackexchange.com/users/342706/robert-ontiri and english.stackexchange.com/users/342699/robert-motari-ontiri.
– Scott
2 days ago
Welcome to Stack Exchange. It would appear that you have accidentally created two accounts. This will interfere with commenting and editing your own posts. You should use the contact form and select ‘‘I need to merge user profiles’’ to have your accounts merged. In order to merge them, you will need to provide links to the two accounts. For your information, these are english.stackexchange.com/users/342706/robert-ontiri and english.stackexchange.com/users/342699/robert-motari-ontiri.
– Scott
2 days ago
add a comment |
protected by Mari-Lou A yesterday
Thank you for your interest in this question.
Because it has attracted low-quality or spam answers that had to be removed, posting an answer now requires 10 reputation on this site (the association bonus does not count).
Would you like to answer one of these unanswered questions instead?
1
What alternatives are you considering??
– Gary's Student
Apr 26 '14 at 13:38
1
With no context and no source for the sentence, nobody can say. Contrary to what your English teacher may have taught you, sentences do not exist out of context, and grammaticality is not absolute. Who is saying this sentence? Is the speaker a native speaker? Why would you suspect it is not grammatical? Why ask about "can" and "if"? Why not "reasonable" or "condition" or "satisfied"?
– John Lawler
Apr 26 '14 at 14:33