Does the answer sound awkward?

[juliana0403]

Plase see the below dialoge.

Son: Mom, can I sleep over at a friend's hosue?

Mom: If only you had told me.

Mom's saying sounds awkward as an answer?

How about "if only you told me"?

Than you...

[Mister Micawber]

.
No, her answer doesn't make sense in the given context. Which speech is it that you wish to use?--


Son: Mom, can I sleep over at a friend's house?

Mom: When? Which friend?


OR--


Son (arriving home on foot): Mom, I needed you to pick me up at school today!

Mom: If only you had told me.
.

[juliana0403]

Hi, thank you for your answer with specific examples.

Actually, the dialogue I mentioned is the part of the English test.

They said Mom's saying as an answer is not proper. But I couldn't fully

understand why Mom's answer (if you had told me) is awkward.

In the given context, son is asking for permission that he sleeps over at a

friend's house. I just thought that Mom's answer is denying her son's request.

Mom might think "If you told me earlier that you want to sleep at friend's, I

would accept it. But all of sudden you told me, I can't let you sleep at friend's
.
I am not sure if you understand what I tried to say...

[Mister Micawber]

.
Nope, the connection between the son's speech and Mom's is too tenuous. None of that background information you supplied (If you told me earlier that you want to sleep at friend's, I would accept it. But all of sudden you told me, I can't let you sleep at friend's) is evident in the conversation.
.

[hlbert03]

I think the answer of the mom is correct if she really intends to say this:

- If only you have told me earlier, I could have said yes.

Using "had" though seems awkward to me.

[juliana0403]

Thank you guys..

[shuja87]

I think the difference here lies in the usage of the past perfect and the simple past tenses. Americans prefer the simple past tense to the past perfect tense. So it is understandable if the test taker is an American and thinks it is more proper to use 'if only you told me' instead of 'if only you had told me.'

However, I have to say, the answer to the Son's question is awkward.