Re: How should I say this?

Originally Posted by
Nicky_K
Hello!
Could you tell me please, which one is correct (if any).
- The Beatles wouldn’t be the Beatles if they wrote their songs not in English.
- The Beatles wouldn’t be the Beatles if they didn't write their songs in English.
- The Beatles wouldn’t be the Beatles if they wouldn't have written their songs in English.
- The Beatles wouldn’t be the Beatles if they wouldn’t write their songs in English.
Is there other way to say this? I'm not shure sure which tense (present, past or future) I should use in the subjunctive mood.
Thank you
The Beatles wouldn't have been The Beatles if they hadn't written their songs in English.
The Beatles don't exist any more so I wouldn't start the sentence with "The Beatles wouldn't be The Beatles" as that suggests the present. They existed in the past. If it were now 1965, I might say "The Beatles wouldn't be The Beatles if they didn't write their songs in English".
Using "not in English" is a difficult construction to fit into this sentence.
Remember - correct capitalisation, punctuation and spacing make posts much easier to read.