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Date: | Wed, 22 Mar 2006 16:56:13 -0700 |
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Thank you, Linda--your remarks help!
Chuck Fisher
Professor, English
Aims Community College
5401 West 20th St.
Greeley, CO 80634
970-339-6520
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----- Original Message -----
From: Linda DiDesidero
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Sunday, March 19, 2006 5:54 AM
Subject: Re: "Add" or "Added"?
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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