I eventually figured that I wasn’t going to get anywhere trying to explain highfalutin rules of grammar to some half wit waitress at a café, so I scrammed. If there's an audio version of this, narrated by Fenella herself, of course, then I would much prefer that and it would get 5 stars from me.

I was driving by Jenny’s Café a few days later to admire my handy work, when I noticed that some asshole (probably Jenny herself) had crawled up there and erased my beautiful apostrophe — slapped some white paint right over it. Setting your Language Level helps other users provide you with answers that aren't too complex or too simple. I would suggest that correct question to pose, in this instance, would be: "Would you mind if I were to smoke here? it's worth the listen alone for the bits about her Carry On movies, but what stands out is someone far deeper and who has lived and met many famous people. That said, many people ignore this now and so you might also find "I was" used here by some native speakers.Yes, it's interrogative and conditional, with the condition given in the "if…" clause ( protasis) and potential consequence in the first clause ( apodosis) and inversion ("would you" instead of "you would") to make it a question asking if this conditional is indeed the case. The element of courtesy, gentleness, or other qualitative aspect of the question comes entirely in the way the question is asked and the extent to which the listener feels that their opinion is genuinely being sought. As Fenella says, in her unmistakeable and ever-alluring voice, "It's the best and worst bits of my life. Having said this, there are some real gems here and the occasional insight into ‘an actor’s life’ that demonstrate that some of Ms Fielding’s fellow thespians weren’t the worthy good-guys the viewing public believed them to be – Norman Wisdom, as a case in point.

In this case both forms are used by native speakers, and there may well be a difference in the nuance of meaning between them. Unfortunately, many of our favourites are now gone, but they are all still in our hearts and memories. Could it be that since these two sentences have apparently similar meanings, they are not really conditionals but rather a courtesy or polite way of asking permission and therefore the present or past is acceptable?Simultaneously she had an illustrious stage career that includes leading roles in works by Wilde, Shakespeare, Sheridan and Chekhov. Due to grammar rule, I only think of the sentence "would you mind if I smoked" but I still have seen some cases written down " Would you mind if smoke? However, the converse is false: the presence of "would" in the main clause does not necessarily require either a modal preterite or a subjunctive in the "if"-clause.

Read more about the condition New: A new, unread, unused book in perfect condition with no missing or damaged pages. Glazed donuts are my favorite, but I enjoy an occasional apple fritter or bear claw just as much as the next guy.Best known for her appearances in the Carry-On films, this book dips into the life and career of Fenella Fielding. Nonetheless, this is a charming account, in which the actress willingly shares her encounters with other celebrities from that generation. Would you mind if I smoked here= simple future tense question using conditional tense form of smoke.