4.3. Досадные мелочи

I do remember, and then when I try to remember, I forget.A.A.Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

4.3.1. If и компания при согласовании времен

"You couldn't deny that, even if you tried with both hands." "I don't deny things with my hands," Alice objected. "Nobody said you did," said the Red Queen, "I said you couldn't if you tried."

Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass

Допустим, вам необходимо сказать следующее:

Он сказал, что выпустит ее, если она ему все расскажет.

В таких случаях логика почему-то отступает и Романтик начинает гадать, пытаясь породить нужное согласование интуитивно:

Не said he would let her go if she would tell him everything.

He said he let her go if she will tell him everything. И так далее. Все помнят, что if - это что-то жуткое и там все не так, как всегда.

А там, однако, все именно так, как всегда. Если бы мы передавали прямую речь, мы сказали бы:

Не said, "I will let you go if you tell me everything."

В главном предложении - будущее время, в придаточном - настоящее. Так себя ведет первый if. Значит, будущее время перейдет во FutPast, а настоящее - в прошедшее:

Не said he would let her go if she told him everything.

Появление пассива тоже, кстати, никак не повлияет на ситуацию. Все по-прежнему будет делаться по правилам.

(Не) said he'd give me information if his name wasn't used.¹

Этот случай ничем не отличается от тех, которые уже разбирались. То же самое относится и ко всем друзьям if, а именно: when, while, before и компании.

Разберитесь сами с такими предложениями, переведя прямую речь в косвенную:

1. "The problem is all inside your head," she said to me. "The answer is easy if you take it logically. I'm here to help you if you're struggling to be free.²

_______________ 1. Dignity by Bob Dylan. 2. Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover by Paul Simon.

2. Judas, he just winked and said (...), "Choose which of those bills you want, Before they all disappear."¹

3. I repeated that my friends Were all in jail, with a sigh He gave me his card He said, "Call me if they die."²

4. We came to the pyramids all embedded in ice. He said, "There's a body I'm tryin' to find. If I carry it out, it'll bring a good price."³

5. Last night the wife saidб, "Oh boy, when you're dead You won't take nothing with you but your soul."⁴

6. He said, "Rocky, you met your match," But Rocky said, "Doc, it's only a scratch, And I'll be better, I'll be better. Doc, as soon as I am able."⁵

The Keys

1. She said to me the problem was all inside my head and the answer was easy if I took it logically. She said she was there to help me if I was struggling to be free.

2. Judas told him to choose which of those bills he wanted before they all disappeared.

3. He gave me his card and he told me to call him if they died.

4. He said there was a body he was trying to find. He said it would bring a good price if they carried it out.

5. Last night the wife said when he was dead he wouldn't take nothing with him but his soul.

6. He said that Rocky (He told Rocky that he) had met his match, but Rocky said it was only a scratch and he would be better as soon as he was able.

К счастью...

Ни второй, ни третий if при согласовании времен ни на что не меняются, никуда не переходят и вообще не делают ничего такого, в чем можно было бы их заподозрить. Они просто остаются на месте:

Не said, "You could make it if you tried." He said you could make it if you tried.

He said, "If I had known it before, I would have taken the necessary precautions."

____________________ 1.Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest by Bob Dylan. 2.Bob Dylan's 115th Dream by Bob Dylan. 3.Isis by Bob Dylan. 4.Ballad of John and Yoko by The Beatles. 5.Rocky Raccoon by The Beatles.

Не said if he had known it before, he would have taken the necessary precautions.

У наблюдательного читателя наготове вопрос: а как тогда отличить в косвенной речи первый if от второго, особенно если сказуемое в придаточном предложении не выражено глаголом to be в форме was (который, как мы помним, во втором if иногда превращается в were)? Ответ: никак. Не спешите упрекать английский язык в бедности. В русском языке, например, как мы уже видели, второй if ничем не отличается от третьего, и никого это еще с толку не сбило.