Learn English – Is vs will vs get in a sentence

grammar

I need to convey a message that " if I put a weight on something(assume a newly bought pillow). It is more likely to get torn". My question is of the below sentences which sentence is more accurate for the above scenario and why.

  1. If you put a weight on it , it is torn(damaged) easily.
  2. If you put a weight on it, it gets torn easily
  3. If you put a weight on it, it will get torn easily.
  4. If you put a weight on it. It is more likely to be torn
  5. If you put a weight on it, it is more likely to get torn
    6.If you put a weight on it, it will torn easily

Best Answer

A sentence beginning with "if" is a conditional sentence. The verbs that you use depends on the situation that it describes.

For a universal truth- something that will always happen, you use present simple:

If you pour hot water onto ice, the ice melts
If you put a weight on it, it tears.

If you are describing a specific situation, and something will definitely happen, you generally use will:

If you put a weight on it, it will tear.

If you are describing a probable consequence of a situation, you generally use present simple and probably or is likely to.

If you put a weight on it. It is likely to tear.

If you are describing something that might happen anyway, but is more likely to happen in the specified situation, you say is more likely to.

If you put a weight on it. It is more likely to tear.

You can express the same idea by saying

If you put a weight on it. It will tear more easily.

Moving on to the question of get torn and be torn, get torn relates to an event- the instant in which tearing takes place. be torn can relate either to an event, or to a to a state- the condition that it's in once the tearing has happened.

Consider a glass. An event occurred in which the glass broke. From that time onwards, the state of the glass is .broken.

The glass is broken - that's the current state of the glass right now
The glass was broken yesterday - could be the state of the glass yesterday and it broke some time before yesterday, or it could describe the event of it being broken, and it happened yesterday.
The glass broke yesterday - describes the event of the glass being broken, and it happened yesterday
The glass got broken yesterday - describes the event of the glass being broken, and it happened yesterday

In this case, we want to emphasise that the weight is the cause of a tearing event, so it makes more sense to use the get version.

If you put a weight on it, it gets torn.
If you put a weight on it, it will get torn.
If you put a weight on it. It is likely to get torn.
If you put a weight on it. It is more likely to get torn.
If you put a weight on it. It will get torn more easily.

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