Use of pluperfect instead of imperfect

Patrick K.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Use of pluperfect instead of imperfect

Hi

Elles auraient eu un chien si elles avaient pu
They would have had a dog if they could have.

If I'm not mistaken:

auraient eu -> Conditional past "would have"
avaient pu -> Pluperfect "had been able to"

1. What happens to the rule about "Si" + imperfect in this case? Does it only apply to Imperfect + Conditional present?
2. Shouldn't "avaient pu" be something like "auraient eu"?

I can see why you could use the pluperfect for "They would have had a dog if they had been able to". But "... could have" seems to call for the conditional past (although I agree that the meaning is the same).


What am I missing here?

Thanks

Asked 1 day ago
CélineKwiziq Native French TeacherCorrect answer

Bonjour Patrick,

Take a look at the link below (a similar question), the answer there should help you:

Other types of "Si" clauses

I hope this is helpful.

Bonne journée !

Patrick K.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Hi Celine, thanks for the quick response. Very clear now.

Regards

Patrick K. asked:

Use of pluperfect instead of imperfect

Hi

Elles auraient eu un chien si elles avaient pu
They would have had a dog if they could have.

If I'm not mistaken:

auraient eu -> Conditional past "would have"
avaient pu -> Pluperfect "had been able to"

1. What happens to the rule about "Si" + imperfect in this case? Does it only apply to Imperfect + Conditional present?
2. Shouldn't "avaient pu" be something like "auraient eu"?

I can see why you could use the pluperfect for "They would have had a dog if they had been able to". But "... could have" seems to call for the conditional past (although I agree that the meaning is the same).


What am I missing here?

Thanks

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