Would you mind if I "opened/open" the window

Question

Which one of the followings is correct?

Would you mind if I opened the window?

or

Would you mind if I open the window?

Ps: like 2 if condition
If I were you / If I was you (both is okay but usually used to "were")
so it is the same condition or not?

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 13 '18 at 02:20

3

Would you mind if I opened the window?

This is the most grammatically correct usage. You should use this.

Would you mind if I open the window?

This, while technically incorrect, is still used a lot by native speakers.

Your other two sentences are in a similar situation:

If I were you

This is correct. While normally we use was in the singular case, for hypotheticals we use were.

If I was you

This, while technically wrong, is still used all the time by native speakers who don't understand the nuance of the subjunctive mood.

answered Jul 13 '18 at 02:20

Omegastick

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Verb after if gotta be past tense?(+ed) – Ives Jul 13 '18 at 02:26
@Ives It's actually really complex, probably the most complex part of English IMO. It depends on the Irrealis mood: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irrealis_mood – Omegastick Jul 13 '18 at 02:33
If the Irrealis were the future, I can still use past tense after if? – Ives Jul 13 '18 at 02:43
Sorry, I don't understand what you mean. Could you rephrase that? – Omegastick Jul 13 '18 at 02:44
For example, if I went to swimming class this summer(not summer yet), is this correct? – Ives Jul 13 '18 at 02:46
Yeah, that's fine. If I go to swimming class this summer is also fine, they just have different moods. – Omegastick Jul 13 '18 at 05:47
Is went more Irrealis than go here? (less possibility) – Ives Jul 13 '18 at 06:43
1

Irrealis moods are a group of grammatical 'mood's that convey the subtle nuance of things that aren't certain. A full lesson on them isn't really in the scope of Stack Exchange, but there's a good explanation of them here: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/grammar/moods – Omegastick Jul 13 '18 at 06:48

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 13 '18 at 03:45

This is the 2nd would condition. Both conditions are unreal.

For example:

Would you accept that job, if they offered it to you ?

1. He has not accepted the job.
2. He has not been offered the job.

This is the same as

1. He does not feel annoyed at that moment.
2. The window has not been opened.

Would you mind if I opened the window

The above sentence is correct.

willie · Answer 3 · 2019-09-04T02:22:46.203

Would you mind opening the window? - it's a request Would you mind if
I open the window? - it's asking for permission

Would you mind not smoking? - it's asking sb to stop smoking, or not to start doing it when we see sb is going to do it.
Would you mind if I smoke? - it's asking for permission to smoke

Are these both acceptable and the same in meaning?    
    "Would you mind if I opened the window?"    
    "Would you mind if I open the window?"    
Both are quite acceptable. The meaning is identical.     
Some people believe the use of "opened" makes the request a little more polite

Would you mind if I "opened/open" the window

3 Answers3