If sentences

[Joea]

This is from a bigbangtheory episode and I was wondering what if I change the past form verbs to present, then how different the meaning could be. Can you please tell me the possible differences meaningwise? (I am keeping the past form of said in both sentences)

1. My friend Leonard said if I bothered you while you were eating, you’d think I was a creepy stalker.
2. My friend Leonard said if I bother you while you are eating, you will think I am a creepy stalker.

Thank you.

 

[Mehrgan]

***not a teacher***
It seams like sentence 1 is referring to a specific case, a certain situation, and the advice was given for that particular occasion, while sentence 2 can be said when you're talking about a general characteristic of the person having their meal. Please wait and you'll receive sophisticated answers from expert members.

 

[Joea]

Can Someone else comment on this?

 

[Rover_KE]

They are both correct and mean the same to me.

Note: '...a Big Bang Theory episode'.

 

[riquecohen]

Can Someone else comment on this?

Please try to be more patient. Members of this forum are located in many parts of the world and a large percentage of them were still sleeping when you started this post.

 

[Joea]

They are both correct and mean the same to

Thank you Rover. If they mean the same when would you choose one style(?) over the other?

 

[eclectik]

The first sentence is the second conditional, for things that are fairly unlikely (If I won the lottery I would buy a Ferrari) or impossible (e.g. if I had wings I would fly).
The other one is in the first conditional and expresses stronger likelihood.

 

[bhaisahab]

1. My friend Leonard said if I bothered you while you were eating, you’d think I was a creepy stalker.
2. My friend Leonard said if I bother you while you are eating, you will think I am a creepy stalker.

I agree with Rover, we could say either with the same intended meaning. However, if you insist on a difference, in my opinion it is this:

Sentence 1. could refer to a past event, I was going to "bother you" while you were eating, but Leonard warned me that you would think me "a creepy stalker" so I didn't.
Sentence 2. could mean that Leonard warned me that if I were, at any time in the future, to "bother you" while you were in the process of eating, itwould cause you to think me "a creepy stalker".

 

[Joea]

Sentence 1. could refer to a past event, I was going to "bother you" while you were eating, but Leonard warned me that you would think me "a creepy stalker" so I didn't.
Sentence 2. could mean that Leonard warned me that if I were, at any time in the future, to "bother you" while you were in the process of eating, itwould cause you to think me "a creepy stalker".

Thank you so much bhaisahab.
the second one quite explains well of the scene, but the first one doesn't seem so, because Seldon(?, I) was talking to a guy(you, here) while he was speaking the first sentence. So he was bothering him while the guy was eating.