if ..then.

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if ..then.

by advita » Fri Dec 10, 2010 11:42 am
Cameroon's education system would have been better if people had an incentive to get a good education.

1. Would have been, had
2. Would be , had


pl explain which is correct 1 or 2.
Source: — Sentence Correction |

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by tomada » Fri Dec 10, 2010 12:52 pm
My vote is for (2). I think "...would have been better" implies that Cameroon's education system no longer exists. "...would be better" implies that an education system in Cameroon currently exists, which I think we can assume. Just my opinion, anyway.
I'm really old, but I'll never be too old to become more educated.

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by Jim@Grockit » Sun Dec 12, 2010 10:00 pm
advita wrote:Cameroon's education system would have been better if people had an incentive to get a good education.

1. Would have been, had
2. Would be , had


pl explain which is correct 1 or 2.
I think #1 would also be correct if it were would have been/ had had. The difference would then be a past hypothetical condition vs. a present one.

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