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March 2006

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Subject:
From:
Linda DiDesidero <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar <[log in to unmask]>
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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