Mr Clinton

[Tina3]

Mr Clinton is not the president of the USA.

If he were the president, he would do ...

If he was the president, he would do ...

If he had been the president, he would do ...

What is the correct one?
I appreciate your help.

 

[TheParser]

NOT A TEACHER

Hello, Tina:

1. Just a gentle reminder that in American English, one always uses a period after "Mr." For example, "Mr. Clinton visited our school."

2. "If he were the president, he would ask Congress to give free ice cream to all of us."

a. The "were" is the subjunctive. He is NOT the president, so traditionally one should use the subjunctive. For example: I am NOT intelligent, but I wish (that) I were intelligent.

b. It seems that the subjunctive is still quite popular in the United States.

3. "If he was the president, he would ...."

a. This is how many people would say that sentence. In other words, they would NOT use the subjunctive. For many people, "was" sounds more "natural." ("I wish I was / were intelligent.")

4. Mr. Clinton was NOT the president in 1950. But if he had been the president, he would have asked the Congress to give us all free ice cream.

 

[Tdol]

If he had been the president, he would do ...

This one would require a specialised context to have a chance of working as he was president, and it is unlikely to write a sentence like this, where the second half refers to an imaginary president. The example TheParser gives is a regular third conditional, and that requires an extra time reference. The version you give would only work with extra context IMO.

 

[Tina3]

Thanks

Mr. Reagan is dead.

If you use the name of Mr. Reagan, what is the proper sentence?

 

[emsr2d2]

Are you asking if "Mr Reagan is dead" is a correct sentence?

 

[Tina3]

No
I want to replace the name Clinton with Reagan.

Reagan is not alive.

What is the correct sentence if you use Reagan here?

 

[emsr2d2]

I think we'll be able to help you better if you tell us what comes after "he would ..." in the original sentences. I assume that you are talking about what Bill Clinton or Ronald Reagan would do if they were still president now but I'm not really sure.

 

[Tdol]

The fact that Mr Reagan is dead does not affect the fact that he was president, so I would not use had been for him either.

 

[Tina3]

Thanks

My question is on subjunctive aspects.

Mr. Reagan is dead.

Today we write, for example, the following:

If Reagan had been the president, he would send the US troops to Syria and Iraq to fight against IS.

I think if a person is dead, we must use 'had been'

However, the following is correct
If Mr Reagan were alive, he would be 105.

 

[emsr2d2]

The fact that the person is dead has no relevance in this context.

If Ronald Reagan were president (now), he would send troops ...

 

[Tina3]

Thanks emsr for the reply.

So the context matters very much here.

Recently, in the USA, police shot and killed a black person.
I knew there were some riots.

I do not know the name of the dead person.

1 If he had been a white person, police would not shot and kill him.
2. If he were a white person, police would not shot and kill him.

Are both correct in this context?

 

[didar047]

What if i say, If Ronald Reagan had been president, he would send troops..

Does it make any difference?

 

[emsr2d2]

Thanks emsr for the reply.

So the context matters very much here.

Recently, in the USA, police shot and killed a black person.
I knew there were some riots.

I do not know the name of the dead person.

1 If he had been a white person, police would not shot and kill him.
2. If he were a white person, police would not shot and kill him.

Are both correct in this context?

In that context, it would be correct to say "If he had been white". The difference is that in your example about the president you were using the "if" part to talk about the present but in your latest one, it refers to the past.

Look at the difference between these:

In 1995, Bill Clinton passed a new immigration law. If Ronald Reagan had been president, the law would not have been passed.
Barack Obama is not sending troops to Syria. If Ronald Reagan were president, he would send them.

In the first, the "if" clause means "If Ronald Reagan had been president in 1995".
In the second, the "if" clause means "If Ronald Reagan were president now/today".

 

[GoesStation]

What if i say, If Ronald Reagan had been president, he would send troops..

Does it make any difference?

The subjunctive mood is a better choice. It casts the sentence into the unreal, which is necessary if you want to consider what would happen if a dead person were revived and became president.

To use the past perfect, the following clause has to be he would have sent troops.

 

[Tdol]

Recently, in the USA, police shot and killed a black person.
I knew there were some riots.

I do not know the name of the dead person.

1 If he had been a white person, police would not shot and kill him.

This is correct, but the facts of this case are different from those of Ronald Reagan. This man was not white. Ronald Reagan was president. If you use had been you are imagining an alternative to past facts, like the case of the man police shot. Therefore, if you use had been with Reagan, then you are factually incorrect. You could say If Reagan were president in the same way that you could say If Bush were president, and the fact that Bush is alive and Reagan dead doesn't affect things- neither of them is currently the president and you want to look at an imaginary alternative to the current facts.

 

[Tina3]

Thanks everybody for the excellent replies.

This question is from my wife, as a matter of fact

1.If he had been a white person, police would not shot and kill him.

2.If he had been a white person, police would not have shot and kill him.

I think only the second sentence is correct. Because it was in the past.
I am not sure. Please tell me.

 

[Boris Tatarenko]

Thanks everybody for the excellent replies.

This question is from my wife, as a matter of fact

1.If he had been a white person, police would not shot and kill him.

2.If he had been a white person, police would not have shot and kill him.

I think only the second sentence is correct. Because it was in the past.
I am not sure. Please tell me.

Yes, you are right.

 

[GoesStation]

Sentence 2 is closer but it still has an error. It should say ...shot and killed him.