Tom Ellis
Jul 16, 2024

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You mean "if it weren't too late," don't you? If you can't tell the difference between the subjunctive and the past conditional forms, you have no business giving editorial advice, especially in a patronizing manner.

Longer sentences take more mental energy to understand, but in so doing, if well-constructed, they can convey complex relationships far more precisely than short, simplistic fragments like your proposed revision. Context is everything.

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Tom Ellis
Tom Ellis

Written by Tom Ellis

I am a retired English professor now living in Oregon, and a life-long environmental activist, Buddhist, and holistic philosopher.

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