Would you tell the teacher Darren had done it?

[EngLearner]

Some time ago, a woman betrayed a man who she was in love with (he did something bad, and she reported him to the police). Because of that betrayal he had to do time in prison. Now that he's out, he's decided to take revenge on her. He's devised a series of humiliating actions through which she'll have to go, and to ensure that she does go through them he's abducted her daughter Lindsay. Lindsay doesn't understand why he's doing that to her mother and asks him to explain to her. He finds out that there's a boy in her school named Darren that she likes and explains to her by example:

Let's say Darren did something really really bad like he stole money from the teacher's purse. Would you tell the teacher Darren did it? Would you get him in trouble? Would you send Darren to the principal's office? Would you get him expelled from school?

Source: "My Daughter's Ransom", a movie (timestamp: 44m00s).

Would it make sense to use the past perfect in this case and say "Would you tell the teacher Darren had done it?" Would it sound OK? I'm wondering because in that hypothetical scenario the doing is earlier in time than the telling.

 

[jutfrank]

Some time ago, a woman betrayed a man who she was in love with (he did something bad, and she reported him to the police). Because of that betrayal he had to do time in prison. Now that he's out, he's decided to take revenge on her. He's devised a series of humiliating actions through which she'll have to go, and to ensure that she does go through them he's abducted her daughter Lindsay. Lindsay doesn't understand why he's doing that to her mother and asks him to explain to her. He finds out that there's a boy in her school named Darren that she likes and explains to her by example:

All of this is very good English, well done. Your use of past and present tenses is really good here.

Would it make sense to use the past perfect in this case and say "Would you tell the teacher Darren had done it?" Would it sound OK? I'm wondering because in that hypothetical scenario the doing is earlier in time than the telling.

Yes, it would make sense but you're not going to achieve much by sequencing the events because it doesn't really matter. The relevance is that Darren did it and whether you would or would not tell the teacher that Darren did it.

 

[EngLearner]

A. Let's say Darren did something really really bad like he stole money from the teacher's purse. Would you tell the teacher Darren did it? Would you get him in trouble? Would you send Darren to the principal's office? Would you get him expelled from school?

B. Let's say Darren were to do something really really bad like steal money from the teacher's purse. Would you tell the teacher Darren did it? Would you get him in trouble? Would you send Darren to the principal's office? Would you get him expelled from school?

As far as I can tell, version A is a second conditional (describing a hypothetical situation in the present/future), so I wonder if version B can also be used to express the meaning of version A. I looked on the internet for the structure "Let's say [subject] were to do something...", and I found a few examples, but there weren't many such examples. How do you like the tenses that I used in version B?

 

[jutfrank]

Let's say Darren did something really really bad
Let's say Darren were to do something really really bad

These are basically the same.

like he stole money
like steal money

The first is no good. Use the second.

 

[EngLearner]

If I say it like this in the form of a first conditional:

Let's say Darren does something really really bad like he steals money from the teacher's purse. Will you tell the teacher Darren [did]/[has done] it?

Can I use either tense for the bolded part?

 

[5jj]

There is no first conditional there.

 

[jutfrank]

If I say it like this in the form of a first conditional:

Let's say Darren does something really really bad like he steals money from the teacher's purse. Will you tell the teacher Darren [did]/[has done] it?

Can I use either tense for the bolded part?

There's no reason to use a present tense or the perfect aspect. Just past simple did is fine.

You're expressing a hypothetical so use 'Would' instead of 'Will' for your question.

 

[EngLearner]

Just to make sure I understand the point made in post #7. This is a first conditional (an event in the future is contingent upon another event in the future):

If I win the lottery, I will do such and such with the money.

If I express the same thought using "say" or "suppose" at the beginning, then in the next sentence I should use "would" rather than "will" even though the present tense "win" is used after the words "suppose/say":

1. Suppose/say I win the lottery. I would do such and such with the money.

According to that, I shouldn't say it like this:

2. Suppose/say I win the lottery. I will do such and such with the money.

Do I understand this correctly? I think I've come across structures like #2. Here's one such example (this link):

The NBER defines a recession as an absolute decline in economic activity. However, some economists view it as a period when growth falls significantly below its long-term potential. This makes more sense where an economy's potential growth rate shifts over time, or when comparing economies that are growing at different speeds. Suppose country A has a potential growth rate of 4% and country B one of only 2%. A growth rate of 2% in country A will cause unemployment to rise, but in country B it will leave unemployment unchanged. By this definition, country A would be in recession.

This example also happens to use "would" as you suggested in post #7.

 

[jutfrank]

Okay, I think I see the question.

Yes, you can use suppose/imagine + present tense to postulate a hypothetical situation. You don't have to use a past tense to do that.

And yes, you can use both will and would in the following clause. There's not an important difference in meaning, but using 'would' helps a little more to keep things hypothetical. That's why I suggested you use 'would' in your question about Darren.

 

[EngLearner]

All of this is very good English, well done. Your use of past and present tenses is really good here.

By the way, I'm flattered to hear that from a native speaker. It warms the cockles of my heart. The time I've spent studying English is finally beginning to pay off.