Could I ever imagine...

How can I say "Could I ever imagine that I will be / become a president?" I have much doubt about the sequence of tenses. I think the sentence is wrong, but have no idea how to correct it.

And another question:
Is the sentence "She's a stranger to me" correct and idiomatic? What I'm trying to say is "Она мне чужая" in Russian.

Please, correct my other mistakes in this post. Thanks.

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Originally Posted by Оля

How can I say "Could I ever imagine that I will be / become a president?" I have much doubt about the sequence of tenses. I think the sentence is wrong, but have no idea how to correct it.

Not sure exactly what you want to say. (Can you write it in Russian to clarify?) But I assume it is, "Can I ever imagine that I will become president?" But I think you are trying to say, "I would/could never imagine that I would/could be/become president!"

Would/could depending on what point you are trying to make. Would = it happened somehow. Could = you were able to do it.

And another question:
Is the sentence "She's a stranger to me" correct and idiomatic? What I'm trying to say is "Она мне чужая" in Russian.

Yes, it's perfect!

Please, correct my other mistakes in this post. Thanks.

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Originally Posted by ZelyeUrsuli

Not sure exactly what you want to say. (Can you write it in Russian to clarify?) But I assume it is, "Can I ever imagine that I will become president?" But I think you are trying to say, "I would/could never imagine that I would/could become president!"

Would/could depending on what point you are trying to make. Would = it happened somehow. Could = you were able to do it.

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In Russian:
Мог ли я (когда-нибудь) представить, что я буду президентом?

That means that I (in the past; for example, when I was a child) could never imagine that I can be a president in the future. But I'd like to avoid the verb "can" (can/could be a president). How can I sat that? Maybe this sentence is correct:
"Could I ever imagine that I would be a president"?.....

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Originally Posted by Оля

In Russian:
Мог ли я (когда-нибудь) представить, что я буду президентом?

That means that I (in the past; for example, when I was a child) could never imagine that I can be a president in the future. But I'd like to avoid the verb "can" (can/could be a president). How can I sat that? Maybe this sentence is correct:
"Could I ever imagine that I would be a president"?.....

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Could I have ever imagined that I would become the president?

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could . . . 3. modal v indicating possible past situation: used to indicate a possible situation in the past that did not happen
We could have gone.

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Encarta(R) World English Dictionary [North American Edition] (2007) http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/could.html

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become . . . 1. intransitive verb come to be something: to change or develop into something

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Encarta(R) World English Dictionary [North American Edition] (2007) http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/become.html

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Originally Posted by Оля

Is the sentence "She's a stranger to me" correct and idiomatic? What I'm trying to say is "Она мне чужая" in Russian.

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Your English sentence is correct but depending on context can have different meanings, including this one:

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stranger . . . 6. alienated person: somebody who has become distanced or alienated from somebody or something
She is a stranger to her former colleagues.

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Encarta(R) World English Dictionary [North American Edition] (2007) http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/stranger.html

Thanks, Ken. Could you, please, check this one too:
Could I have ever imagined that I would have to be a baby-sitter?

Is the "be" incorrect here, either? I mean that I'm not actually a baby-sitter, but I have to be it, temporarily.

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Originally Posted by Оля

Thanks, Ken. Could you, please, check this one too:
Could I have ever imagined that I would have to be a baby-sitter?

Is the "be" incorrect here, also? I mean that I'm not actually a baby-sitter, but I have to be it, temporarily.

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It's OK, and yes, the "be" sounds OK to me, but I would delete the hyphen "-", and write babysitter: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/babysitter
It isn't that "be" was wrong in the sentence about the president, it is just that "become" seemed to fit that situtation better.

I think it is better to say "I could never have imagined that I would be president/be a baby sitter."

Saying it as a question sounds a touch awkward to me...

IMO

"Could I ever have imagined..." is better than "Could I have ever imagined..."

And if phrased as a statement as ZelyeUrsuli suggested then "I would never have..." is better than "I could never have..."

Thanks everyone very much :)

[quote=Ken Watts]

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Originally Posted by "Оля":244jgvel

In Russian:
Мог ли я (когда-нибудь) представить, что я буду президентом?

That means that I (in the past; for example, when I was a child) could never imagine that I can be a president in the future. But I'd like to avoid the verb "can" (can/could be a president). How can I sat that? Maybe this sentence is correct:
"Could I ever imagine that I would be a president"?.....

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Could I have ever imagined that I would become the president?
[/quote:244jgvel]

I think "become president" without an article sounds better.