John said, "They were married."

Question

A: John said, "They were married."B1: That's right. If John meant they were married now, he would have said, "they are married." I mean anybody would have said that.B2: That's right. If John meant they were married now, he would simply say, "they are married." I mean anybody would say that. Q1) What is the difference between B1 and B2?Q2) Are the conditional clauses in B1 and B2 both in present time?Q3) Is B1 a mixed conditional sentence and B2 a second conditional sentence?

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

Rizan Malik
A: John said, "They were married."
B1: That's right. If John meant they were married now, he would have said, "they are married." I mean anybody would have said that.
B2: That's right. If John meant they were married now, he would simply say, "they are married." I mean anybody would say that.

Q1) What is the difference between B1 and B2?
Q2) Are the conditional clauses in B1 and B2 both in present time?
Q3) Is B1 a mixed conditional sentence and B2 a second conditional sentence?

A1) The tenses are different, but you already know that. The way I interpret those sentences, the intended meaning is exactly the same.

A2) I instinctively read them both in past time because of what A says, namely, said and were married. The way those sentences begin (If John meant) makes me think that the sentence is about to explain one of John's utterances in the past.

Now since it's an if-clause, my brain tells me that the past tense is probably a substitute for a past perfect tense (a common substitution in English), and that is even more obviously an indicator of past time.

As for B2, the time frame seems to pop into the present when I get to the result clause. That makes me wonder if I should reinterpret the if-clause as a hypothetical present time situation. However, what was said was said, so there's nothing hypothetical about the fact that John said something and meant something when he said it. So the slightly jarring shift of time frame still bothers me a little.

A3) Yes, in terms of the tenses actually used. If you accept my "past-for-past-perfect" substitution theory, however, then conceptually B1 is a third conditional and B2 a mixed conditional. (To be clear, on an exam you would not be expected to answer in terms of the perceived intention of the speaker — only in terms of the tenses actually used.)

CJ

John said, "They were married."

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