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Glossary entry

English term or phrase:

in case

English answer:

in case (it sinks)

    The asker opted for community grading. The question was closed on 2010-12-23 19:54:09 based on peer agreement (or, if there were too few peer comments, asker preference.)
Dec 20, 2010 16:54
13 yrs ago
English term

in case

English Other Linguistics English Grammar
Greetings,

Below is an extract from a test book. "A) in case" seems to be the only correct answer; however "in case it will sink in the middle" doesn't sound right to my ears.

Many thanks in advance for your help.

All the best,
*************************************

You shouldn't open the oven while a sponge cake is baking,....... it will sink in the middle.

A) in case
B) as if
C) providing
D) even if
E) as though
Responses
4 +14 in case (it sinks)
4 +2 it is correct - means "in the event that".

Discussion

Paul Lambert Dec 20, 2010:
True - lest we forget our subjunctives Indeed. The "will" throws it all off. I can't really think of a good answer in that case. I suppose it is off-topic anyway.
William [Bill] Gray Dec 20, 2010:
...not quite! "lest" would fit, Paul, but definitely not in the present structure: "lest it will sink in the middle" is definitively not grammatical English! Here you would have to use the subjunctive again, as mentioned by Tony. Note also his suggestion that it could be considered somewhat archaic, though I guess that could be debated.
Paul Lambert Dec 20, 2010:
"Lest" It is too bad that "lest" is not an option. Given that it is a fill in the blank question, "lest" would fit best. However, it may sound a bit stifled and ideally the sentence should be written altogether differently.

Responses

+14
4 mins
Selected

in case (it sinks)

The most common use would be "...., in case it sinks...." using the present tense instead of the future marker, "will". Sometimes you may hear "in case it should", or "in case it might", but for this context, I would stick to the simple present.


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Note added at 9 mins (2010-12-20 17:03:38 GMT)
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The following link provides some interesting points:
http://www.englishforums.com/English/TheQuestionAboutCaseTen...
Note from asker:
Thanks a million, William.
Peer comment(s):
agree Jack Doughty
9 mins
Thanks, Jack! And a Merry Christmas to you :)
agree Mark Nathan : "in case" already implies an event in the future, so the "will" is superfluous.
16 mins
Thanks, Mark! Merry Christmas to you too.
agree Tony M : Yes, otherwise it would need the subjunctive, as found with the archaic expresssion "lest it sink"...
18 mins
Thanks, Tony, and have a very Merry Christmas.
agree JaneTranslates : I've got to agree with you, Tony, and Mark. Mehmet should throw that book away and trust his ears. Merry Christmas to all!
18 mins
Thanks, Jane, with Christmas greetings!
agree Thayenga : present tense, yes. :)
18 mins
Thank you, Thayenga! Compliments of the season to you!
agree Vicky Nash
46 mins
agree David Knowles : Quite so! It doesn't sound like a textbook written by a native English speaker
55 mins
agree Komeil Zamani Babgohari
1 hr
agree Arabic & More
1 hr
agree Jim Tucker (X) : yes: present tense only -- not future
2 hrs
agree Phong Le
17 hrs
agree B D Finch : Absolutely - who on earth do they get to write these textbooks?
18 hrs
agree airmailrpl : -
18 hrs
agree Farzad Akmali
1 day 15 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you all very much for your help."
+2
3 mins

it is correct - means "in the event that".

I hope it helps.

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Note added at 5 mins (2010-12-20 17:00:19 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"In the the case that" or "in case" is a phrase often used in English when something might or might not happen/occur. It refers to specific, special circumstances.
Note from asker:
Thanks a million, Jenni.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Tony M : Sorry, Jenni, but I can't totally agree with your statement "it is correct" — 'in case' used in this way is perfectly correct, of course — but it is a very typical non-native-speaker error to use it with the future tense, which is not correct!
17 mins
It is the correct answer among those given. I agree that the entire phrase is not well written!
agree eski : Sometimes you have to make the best choice you can, even when you wouldn't phrase it the same way; I agree with you on this one, Jenn. Saludos, eski
1 hr
Thanks Eski. These tests are often dreadful.
agree airmailrpl : -
18 hrs
Thanks airmail. The person who wrote the test deserves all the criticism this entry has provoked!
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