I'm a bit confused by example 3 on page 21 in the 3rd edition of the Sentence correction strategy guide.

It seems to me that the hypothetical sentence is incorrect. The sentence reads as follows:

"If Chris and Jad met, they WOULD DISCUSS mathematics."

The text then explains that the sentence "predicts the consequences of a hypothetical meeting of the two men."

It seems to me that there is some disagreement in the verb tenses; met - past tense; would discuss - future tense. It seems like the sentence should read: "If Chris and Jad met, they would HAVE discussed mathematics." or "If Chris and Jad meet, will discuss mathematics."

Hmm.. now I'm even more confused.. "will vs would". I googled it and learned that the difference is "will" non-contigent, whereas, "would" is contigent upon other factors. So, in this case, is the sentence correct as is in the book because the discussion of mathematics is contigent upon whether or not Chris and Jad met?

The construction "will + verb" is future tense. " I will go to the supermarket on Wednesday." "I will take out the trash tomorrow." These actions take place in the future.

The construction "would + verb" is NOT future tense, but is the conditional tense. The conditional tense is kind of like a future tense from the past. "If I prepared for the test, I would have score much higher."

Hope that helps.

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Ben Ku
Instructor
ManhattanGMAT