Mixed conditional

Hello Anon,

Both seem fine to me.

#1 takes the if-clause from a type II conditional and the main clause from a type III conditional. Since tallness relates to a state, rather than an action, we can think of it as:

1. If I were taller now, I would have been taller then, and therefore would have been selected for the team.

#2 is a standard type III conditional.

However, some people dislike the mixed form in your first sentence; if your sentence occurs in a situation where your grammar is likely to be closely examined, you may prefer to be cautious and select the second version.

MrP

Hello Anon,

1. If you had woken me up, I wouldn't be late for my appointment. (I can't say "If you woke me up, I wouldn't be late", can I?)

— You're right: "if X had happened then, Y wouldn't be the case now."

2) If she was qualified, She would've got the job.

— The if-clause here relates to the true past: we don't know if she got the job, or if she is now qualified.

Cf.

2a. "If she was dead on arrival, she would have been put straight in the morgue. So let's go and look for her there."

But "she was" in the sentence may also stand in place of a subjunctive, e.g.

2b. If she was were qualified, she would've got the job.

— i.e. if she were qualified now, she would have been qualified yesterday, and would have got the job. (But since she isn't qualified, she didn't get the job.)

3. If I knew them really well, I would have gone to the party. (So I still don't know them well?)

— You're right. Cf.

3a. If I had known them then as well as I know them now, I would have gone to the party.

Let me know if you need any more help!

MrP

Hello Anon,

It is a little confusing. It may be easier if we start with a standard type II conditional:

1. If he were the man who committed the crime, the police would arrest him.

This presents a hypothesis: A, if true, would imply B.

Many people use "was" in this structure, instead of the subjunctive "were", e.g.

2. If he was the man who committed the crime, the police would arrest him.

This has the same meaning as #1.

However, there is also a non-hypothetical meaning of "if he was", e.g.

3. If he was the man who committed the crime, the police should arrest him.

Here, "if he was" is indicative, and relates to the true past. The sentence means:

3a. Given the fact that he was the man who committed the crime, the police should arrest him.

Let me know if that's all clear, and then I'll go back to your examples.

All the best,

MrP