Mixed conditional

I find nothing wrong with #1. Others might find #2 okay, but I would say: If only I hadn't had so much homework, I could have read this book.

1- If only I didn't have so much homework [now/future], I could read this book [now/future].
2- If only I didn't have so much homework [now/future], I could have read this book [past].

As Philip said, #2 one isn't very good. It's hard to see

XerxesIf she were more beautiful now, she could have married some millionaire in the past.

I should have elaborated. By "now" I mean that "she" is still around and is still not beautiful enough to marry a millionaire.

If you didn't smoke, they would have offered you an insurance policy with lower premiums.

You are still a smoker now, b

XerxesXerxesIf she were more beautiful now, she could have married some millionaire in the past.I should have elaborated. By "now" I mean that "she" is still around and is still not beautiful enough to marry a millionaire.

I'm not saying you're wrong, but I'm a little dubious. It seems as if the millionaire was basing his (hypothetical) decision on how she wo

CalifJimI'm not saying you're wrong, but I'm a little dubious. It seems as if the millionaire was basing his (hypothetical) decision on how she would look in the future. In short, I find this type of mixed conditional confusing. It makes a situation in the past dependent on a situation in the present, doesn't it? That seems backwards to me.

Perhaps the example

XerxesHere is another, better example:If you hadn't slept with that ex-boyfriend of yours, you wouldn't be pregnant now.The sleeping part took place in the past; the pregnancy is now.

The reason that it's better is that it's a mixed conditional of a different type. Here what happened in the past influenced the present state of affairs. So this isn't the pres

CalifJimHere, as you know from previous discussions, I'd be inclined to think of "If she were" as a substitute for "If she had been there".

I remember our previous discussions, CJ. I struggle to think of "If she were" as a substitute for "if she had been there".

If he were alive, none of this would have happened.
If he were alive [today/now

XerxesThat's my take.

Mine too, for the standard version.

CJ

If he were alive now, then he would clearly have been alive at the time the things happened.

fivejedjonIf he were alive now, then he would clearly have been alive at the time the things happened.

Right, and you have just provided a good example of the mixed conditional!