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Pastimes : SI Grammar and Spelling Lab

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To: Sowbug who wrote (1048)	4/3/1998 2:12:00 PM
From: Jack Clarke	Read Replies (1) of 4711

Sowbug, I agree with you that the expression is not correct, but I don't think it's the wrong tense but the wrong mood. "I'd never do anything ever to hurt you, unless I have to." Here are my thoughts. The way it's expressed could be correct, if the present indicative "have" is implying a future action: "unless I have to hurt you sometime in the future." But that's probably a lame excuse for what is probably just the mistake of not using the subjunctive after the "would" clause. "I would never...., unless I had to." is the correct form, as you point out. "Had" here is the subjunctive. It just happens to have the same form as the past tense. For example, in somewhat archaic inversion style: Had I only the time, I would... But use of the subjunctive is moribund, and I guess we should get used to it. Jack

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