1.) Je správne „would be dead by now“ alebo „would have been dead by now“? S oboma variantmi som sa stretol a neviem, či majú rovnaký význam. Veta je:
„If I hadn't covered them, they would have been ruined. Yes, I think they would have been dead (= would be dead) by now.“ – sem by sa mi viac hodilo „would be dead“, nie?
2.) „If it weren't for…“ – dá sa to použiť v 3. kondicionáli namiesto „if it hadn't been for…“? Napr.:
„If it weren't (= hadn't been) for the police, the smuggling would never have stopped.“
Vďaka.