[riverkid]

MrPedantic: Hello Riverkid
I'm sorry to add a third dialogue to the thread. I'll try to keep it brief.

Hello again to you, Sir.

I have a sense that you may well be arguing against a position I'm not at this moment trying to defend; or perhaps vice versa.
Suppose we try to find the common ground, and look at the question from that position.
Take these two statements, for instance:
1. The past tense expresses an action in the past. It may also be used to express e.g. suggestions, hypotheses, and the unreal.
2. V2 expresses "remoteness", in terms of e.g. time, hypotheses, the unreal.
Which of these is closer to your position?
(For "remoteness" in #2, feel free to substitute a word which better suits your position.)

I'm not sure what you mean by "V2', Mr P.