Is it possible that in trying to say or write (1), one can skip the middle clause and say (2)? Is it acceptable?
(1) If a boy killed his parents, it would be big news now; however, it would have been big news
(2) If a boy killed his parents; however, it would have been big news
2006-12-08 13:09:03 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
1 does not make sense because "however" implies something that is different from what is expected. You say it would be big news, and it would have been big news, which are not contradictory. I am not sure what you are trying to say, but here is a correct example: "If a boy killed his parents, it would be big news now; however, it would not have been big news in ancient Greece."
2 is not grammatically correct. When you use a semicolon ";" each part of the sentence before and after it should be able to function as stand alone sentences. "If a boy killed his parents" is not a sentence.
I know this is not what you asked, but I hope it helped.
2006-12-08 13:20:15 · answer #1 · answered by jellybeanchick 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. 2 does not make a sentence. You can see this if you ditch the semi-colons and substitute periods. And further, what you skipped is not a clause, but a sentence - "if a boy killed his parents" is the clause. And still further, 1 does not make much sense with the "would have been big news" matched with would be big news now" of the first part.
If a boy killed his parents, it would be big news. This is all that makes any sense.
2006-12-08 13:18:28 · answer #2 · answered by sonyack 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If a boy killed his parents, it would be big news. That's it.
2006-12-08 13:17:45 · answer #3 · answered by Maus 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the second sentence doesn't mean anything. I'm pretty sure you can't use However after a a "if" clause.
2006-12-08 13:17:09 · answer #4 · answered by kl55000 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋