Past Time

Pluperfect Subjunctive in both clauses:— sī adfuisset , bene fuisset , if he had [then] been here, it would have been well (but he was NOT here). The use of tenses in Protasis is very loose in English. Thus if he is alive now is a PRESENT condition, to be expressed in Latin by the Present Indicative; if he is alive next year is a FUTURE condition, expressed in Latin by the Future Indicative. Again , if he were here now is a PRESENT condition contrary to fact, and would be expressed by the Imperfect Subjunctive; if he were to see me thus is a FUTURE condition less vivid, to be expressed by the Present Subjunctive; and so, if you advised him, he would attend may be future less vivid. In most English verbs the Preterite (or Past) Subjunctive is identical in form with the Preterite Indicative. Thus in such a sentence as if he loved his father, he would not say this , the verb loved is really a Preterite Subjunctive, though this does not appear from the inflection. In the verb to be , however, the Subjunctive were has been preserved and differs in form from the indicative was.