Newsgroup: it.cultura.linguistica.inglese
Titolo: If i found a wallet in the street...

Alcune delucidazioni...
"Se trovassi un portafoglio per strada, lo porterei alla polizia"
"If i found a wallet in the street,I'd take it to the police"
come potre porre la frase interrogativa?
"Cosa dovrei fare se trovassi...?"
o anche:
"Cosa faresti se trovassi...?"
e magari:
"Tu davvero lo porteresti alla polizia? (se trovassi...)"
*
-- 
Visita Il Mio Sito:
http://southpark.altervista.org

 "Tu davvero lo porteresti alla polizia? (se trovassi...)"
Would you really take it to the police if you found a wallet in the street?
Ciao!!!

 Would you really take it to the police if you found a wallet in the street?
<<Of course. I'd say: "Unfortunately it was empty...">>.
Bye, FB
-- 
L'importante è che risplenda tu, sola primadonna e immarcescibile leggenda
del tuo pianerottolo.
(Lucangel su it.cultura.libri)

"cosa dovrei fare se mi fossi chiesto di..."
vabbene cosi?
"what should i do if i were (was) asked to..."


 What should I do if I found a wallet in the street?
I'd pick it up and run fast! :-)

"If i found a wallet in the street,I'd take it to the police"
anche "If I were to find a wallet in the street, I'd take it to the
police" o "If I happen to find a..."
Sebastiano

 police" o "If I happen to find a..."
if I happened, vero?
la prima non mi è molto chiara, "if I were to find"

la prima non mi è molto chiara, "if I were to find"
Un modo alternativo per dire "se dovessi/potessi". Se FB ha
tempo/voglia può guardare sulla sua advanced grammar per esempi
migliori dei miei.
If I were to write a novel I would write a fantasy one.
If I were (to be) Harry Potter for a day, I would tell Dumbledore the
problem in order to save some trouble.
Sebastiano

contesto? È come quanto in italiano si sbaglia un congiuntivo?
This is how I'd use "happen" & "happened":
"If I happened to find *a* wallet, I would call the police" 
(** non specific wallet)
"If I happen to find *your/the/Tom's* wallet, I would call the police"
(** specific wallet)
I can't explain in more detail.

I can't explain in more detail.
Well, that's weird. I would have never thought about that. Thank you,
I'll try to use them that way.
Sebastiano

 problem in order to save some trouble.
eheheh :)
grazie Seba ^_-


wrote:

Actually, I'm beginning to question myself here. I don't believe that
it's a case of the wallet being specific or not, I think it's a case
of what tense it is used.
"If I happened to find a wallet, I *would* call the police ( Present
conditional)
"If I happen to find a wallet, I *will* call the police (Future)
The latter sentence sounds OK to me now, even though it's a unknown
wallet.

wallet.
Ok. That's not weird. :)
Thanks. :)
Sebastiano

grazie Seba ^_-
Prego, grazie a te.
Sebastiano

>la prima non mi è molto chiara, "if I were to find"
"If I were to find a wallet, I would call the police." is correct, but it's
purely conditional and conjectural. (If I happened to find...)
The only way to express the same in the present (that I can think of) is
"If I find a wallet .... I will call." (If I happen to find... I will call)
Its a little less abstract, maybe.
-- 
The foregoing is my opinion, and my opinion alone. It is intended to
demonstrate modern American English -- spoken, for the most part; not
literary American English. Ergo, caveat lector. (No, not you, Hannibal)

 Its a little less abstract, maybe.
But, somehow, I *suppose* you want to say it may happen. Wouldn't you say
"If I find a wallet, I call the police" just to say that would be what you
would always do in that circumstance?
Bye, FB
-- 
"Nasalization is just a part of life"
(Joey DoWop Dee on it.cultura.linguistica.inglese)



It's just occurred to me that the future tense is common in this type of
sentence in English ("if you lock the boot, it won't open") in general
statements, too.
Bye, FB
-- 
Se dico "siedi!" manca l'oggetto.
Siedo chi? Lei o me?
(da it.cultura.linguistica.italiano)

 would always do in that circumstance?
Yes, this means that you regularly call the police when you find wallets,
rather than saying if you found one (in the future!) you would call them.
Anyway, it's my wallet, so please return it. Intact. Thank you.


+Quanti soldi pensi che dovrei mettere da parte se decidessi di...
*How much money do you think i should set aside if a decided to go to 
london?
+Quanti soldi pensi che ci vogliano per andare a ...
*How much money do you think i'll set aside if a decide to go to London?
+quanti soldi avrei dovuto mettere daparte?
*So... how much money would i have setted aside?!


 *So... how much money would i have setted aside?!
How much money should/would I have set aside?


ma mettere da parte i soldi si puņ anche dire con "save"?

 ma mettere da parte i soldi si può anche dire con "save"?
to save money:
risparmiare