Asking again: Modal questions on a text that is made-up

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Hi. I asked this question as a two-part question post in a thread called "Modal and some other questions with a made-up of piece of text" and haven't gotten a reply for several days, so I thought of asking just this (one) question and do away with the second question to make my post simpler and cogent. Can you answer the following modal questions on this made-up piece of text?

Cut and paste from a thread called "Modal and some other questions with a made-up of piece of text:

I didn't know how to get rid of what looked to be rectangular boxes. Sorry.

Possible title: How to free from the life of dependency
Possible writer: John Doe

...Imagine living your life depending on someone else. That someone supports with all your life's needs. Then one day, you finds yourself with him missing. Gone. In that case, you 1) could go out and find a job that requires physical labor. You body 2) would ache due to overuse of your body and you 3) would try to find another way to support yourself but 4) would find there are a limited number of jobs you can apply to and give up and go back to the life style of dependency you 5) were accustomed to. Then you 6) would find there are not many people you can find to depend on.

So, my recommendation to you is to change your way of thinking. A life of dependency doesn't work -- the sooner you take your life in your hand, the better it will be.

Q: Would you say nos. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 show the conditional use of the modal "would" with elliped if-clauses (that are suitable?)?
Should no. 5 be a past tense or the present perfect tense "has been accustomed to"? I find it difficult to understand the use of a past tense in a piece of writing that is supposed to depict an imaginary situation.

Sorry but is the word 'suppose' intransitive? Should I have written the part after the word 'writing' 'that supposed' instead of 'that is supposed'?

Avangi · Accepted Answer

Anonymous and [you] would give up and go back to the life style of dependency you 5) were accustomed to.

Should no. 5 be a past tense or the present perfect tense "has been accustomed to"? I find it difficult to understand the use of a past tense in a piece of writing that is supposed to depict an imaginary situation.

Sorry but is the word 'suppose' intransitive? Should I have written the part after the word 'writing' 'that supposed' instead of 'that is supposed'? (Then one day you ~~finds~~ find yourself with him missing. Gone.) So far, your only tense is simple present, so you have no restrictions in your choice of tense, other than contextual. (a) someone supports you completely (b) you find him gone (c) you find a job (d) you try to find another (e) you give up (f) you go back.

This time sequence is all contextual, since it's all described in the present tense.

You're fine to use the simple past for the way things used to be, since you can describe the whole history of the world in simple past, if you choose.

Or, at your option, you may use past perfect, calling attention to the time period immediately preceding "his disappearance," which happened one day in the past.

I can't see present perfect working here. Once you start talking about these events which happened (contextually) prior to the imaginary situation you're now in, I don't see how you can use present or present perfect to describe these (earlier) events. I think you're stuck with past and past perfect. The only excuse for present perfect would be that in your imaginary scenario, she hasn't yet broken the habit. So why not say, "which she is accustomed to?" (Sorry, I confused my actors.)

I don't think you actually have to first use simple past in order to then use past perfect. Context has already made it clear that the "life style of dependency" existed prior to the "disappearance of the guy," which happened prior to the situation in which you now find yourself.

"To suppose" is transitive. "I suppose she dances." "It is supposed that she dances." "She is supposed to dance."

Edit. I don't know about ellipted if-clauses, so I opted out or that question. Sorry.

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you. I learned something I didn't know before and got help on some things that I wasn't clear.

You wrote:

I don't think you actually have to first use simple past in order to then use past perfect. Context has already made it clear that the "life style of dependency" existed prior to the "disappearance of the guy," which happened prior to the situation in which you now find yourself.

I think you are right. A more simpler example to show this idea, otlher than the one I wrote, would be nice though. Again, thank you.

Asking again: Modal questions on a text that is made-up

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