14.09.26: Level 3+; Conditional clauses [9]: unreal conditions (3) past contrary-to-fact

Past contrary-to-fact: strongly marked in English by ‘had … could / would have …’, it refers to a condition that could have or would have existed in the past – but what actually happened is the opposite of that condition:

Contrary-to-fact: If Marion had not taken a wrong turning, she would not have stopped at the motel.

Fact: But she did take a wrong turning – she did stop at the motel.

Contrary-to-fact: If she had changed her mind, she could have driven back.

Fact: But she didn’t change her mind – she didn’t drive back.

Latin marks such conditionals with the distinctive pluperfect subjunctive.

Contrary-to-fact: Sī magistrum laudāvissem [pluperfect subjunctive], mē bene docuisset [pluperfect subjunctive].

Contrary-to-fact: If I had praised my teacher, he would have taught me well.

Fact: But I did not praise my teacher – he did not teach me well.

Sī id fēcissēs, sapiēns fuissēs.

• If you had done it, you would have been wise.

Sī labōrāvisset, pecūniam optāvisset.

• If he had worked, he would have desired money.

Certō nūntium tibi ad tempus attulissem sī modo potuissem.

• I would certainly have brought the news to you in time if I had been able.

Sī illa cibum impetrāvisset, rēs melius ēvēnisset.

• If she had acquired food, the situation would have turned out better.

Sī vōs omnēs validiōrēs fuissētis, dūcēs vōbīs fāvissent.

• If you had all been stronger, the commanders would have favoured you.

Sī dēceptī essēmus, dēspērāvissēmus.

• If we had been deceived, we would have despaired.

Sī Rōmae fuissem, tē vīdissem cōramque grātiās ēgissem (Cicero)

• If I had been in Rome, I would have seen you and (would have) thanked you in person.

et fuisset ita, sī hominēs trānsitum tempestātis exspectāre potuissent (Cicero)

• and it would have been like that if people had been able to wait / could have waited for the storm to pass

This quotation from Quintilian is a good example that precisely shows how this conditional type is used:

Sī occīdisset [pluperfect subjunctive], rēctē fēcisset [pluperfect subjunctive]: sed nōn occīdit [perfect indicative]

• If he had killed him, he would have done so rightly; but he did not kill him.

Sī meō cōnsiliō pāruissēs, tuās dīvitiās servāssēs.

• If you had followed my advice, you would have kept your wealth.

This last example shows a feature that has been discussed before:

servāssēs is an example of a syncopated verb form: one or more sounds are omitted from a verb; the term ‘contraction’ is also used:

https://adckl.blogspot.com/search/label/syncopated%20verb%20forms

Syncopation can occur in a range of verb forms, but it is common with verbs that have a perfect stem in -v-, for example:

perfect: audīvī > audiī

pluperfect: audīveram > audieram

future perfect: audīverō > audierō

Here we have a pluperfect subjunctive:

servāvissēs (you would have kept) > servāssēs [i.e. the -vi- of the stem is dropped completely]

This feature is noticeable in Cicero’s writings:

Mānsissēs profectō, sī haec fore putāssēmus (Cicero) [note: syncopated verb form putā(vi)ssēmus]

• You would certainly have stayed if we had thought it was going to happen.

putāvissem (I should have thought) > putāssem [i.e. the -vi- of the stem is dropped completely]

putāvissēmus (we would have thought) > putāssēmus

Similarly:

labōrāvissem > labōrāssem

accūsāvisset > accūsāsset

nāvigāvissēmus > nāvigāssēmus

suspīrāvissent > suspirāssent

Image: compares the forms and translations of the present and past contrary-to-fact conditionals.