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Date: | Sun, 19 Mar 2006 07:54:01 EST |
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Hi, Chuck. I don't know if we talked about your question here. Here is my
take on it: The two sentences could be synonymous, OR they could refer to
different events (or to different sub-events of the same big event), though in
actual usage, this distinction might not be apparent to many speakers.
1. "Would you mind if I added your name to the list?"
Yes, this -ed ending follows the rules. The question refers to a hypothetical
completed action: the state of the name having been added to the list. Hence
the -ed ending. So the speaker is asking the hearer if she would mind a state
or condition in which her name had been added to the list by the speaker.
It seems to me that the second example has a slightly different meaning in
that it refers to the beginning of the speaker's action, but not its completion.
I don't know how aware speakers might be of these distinctions if, in fact,
they exist.
2. "Would you mind if I add your name to the list?"
This question refers to a hypothetical act of the speaker taking a pen and
beginning to write the name on the list. She is asking if the hearer would mind
this undertaking. While sentence 1 refers to the completed state of the name
being on the list, sentence 2 refers to the act of the speaker actually
writing the name on the list.
You can imagine different situations in which these distinctions might be
important. For example:
Would you mind if add your name to the list, or do you want to do it?
*Would you mind if I added your name to the list, or would you want to have
done it?
Linda
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