A conditional clause analysis

Question

In the past, if you ......... to eat Japanese food, you.......... go to Japan but now, you can find Japanese restaurants all around the world, from New York to Istanbul or Sydney.a) wanted / had tob) want / would have toc) had wanted / would have tod) wanted / would have had toe) would want / will have had to."D" seems fine to me. What about "A" ? Can you please elaborate on this particular conditional  sentence. Do you have any other suggestion(s) as to the correct answer?

Goodman · Accepted Answer

KilimanjaroIn the past, if you ......... to eat Japanese food, you.......... go to Japan but now, you can find Japanese restaurants all around the world, from New York to Istanbul or Sydney.

a) wanted / had to
b) want / would have to
c) had wanted / would have to
d) wanted / would have had to
e) would want / will have had to.

"D" seems fine to me. What about "A" ? Can you please elaborate on this particular conditional sentence. Do you have any other suggestion(s) as to the correct answer?

Hi,

Simply, becasue the context said " in the past", (A) is more than an adequate answer. (D) is ok but it would make it sound more cumbersome than necessary.

CalifJim · Answer

The correct answer is A. This is not a true conditional in the past, which would be

If you had wanted to eat Japanese food, you would have had to go to Japan.

The constructors of the test have cleverly left out that answer to make it clear that a true conditional interpretation of the sentence is not desired.

It is more like a statement of a general principle or a habitual state of affairs, as in

In our household, if you want to eat steak, you have to cook it yourself.

But it's stated in the past.

In our household (in those days), if you wanted to eat steak, you had to cook it yourself.

Hence,

{Nowadays / In those days}, if you {want / wanted} to eat Japanese food, you {have / had} to go to Japan.

CJ

Kilimanjaro · Answer

CalifJimThe correct answer is A. This is not a true conditional in the past, which would be

If you had wanted to eat Japanese food, you would have had to go to Japan.

The constructors of the test have cleverly left out that answer to make it clear that a true conditional interpretation of the sentence is not desired.

It is more like a statement of a general principle or a habitual state of affairs, as in

In our household, if you want to eat steak, you have to cook it yourself.

But it's stated in the past.

In our household (in those days), if you wanted to eat steak, you had to cook it yourself.

Hence,

{Nowadays / In those days}, if you {want / wanted} to eat Japanese food, you {have / had} to go to Japan.

CJ

Hello Jim,

I understand the reasons why "A" is correct. But the first part of "D", by the same token, is correct (wanted), and the second part takes a sudden turn to unreality and suggests us a hypothetical situation presenting "would have had to". Is such a structure possible in the English Language?

CalifJim · Answer

In the past, if you wanted to eat Japanese food, you would have had to go to Japan but now, you can find Japanese restaurants all around the world, from New York to Istanbul or Sydney.

Is such a structure possible in the English L language?

Yes. This structure is called a mixed conditional. In this case the listener probably takes the simple past of the if clause as a substitute for the past perfect, so the overall meaning is the same as for the so-called "third conditional".

CJ

A conditional clause analysis

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