Had Nick been here on time, we would not have missed the train. [Introduction]
Had Nick been here on time, we would not miss the train.
Is the second sentence grammatically wrong, or are the two sentences different just in their nuance?
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There are a couple errors that are the same across all the sentences; I'll address those first, and then answer your question about the 3 different sentences.
Firstly, we make decisions, we don't take them. So instead of took the decision, your sentence should read made the decision. Additionally, you are missing a comma after if and after from me. So, the corrected version of each sentence (all of which are now perfectly grammatical):
I am curious if, when you made the decision to solicit a report entitled ‘Time as a Chimpanzee’ from me, you actually expected to receive it.
This is the most simple of the three sentences, and the most likely to actually be said. The speaker wonders if, at the time the report was asked for, the person asking for the report had a reasonable expectation of receiving the report. Very simple.
I am curious if, when you made the decision to solicit a report entitled 'Time as a Chimpanzee' from me, you actually expected to be able to receive it.
This has a slightly different meaning from the first, and probably doesn't mean what you want to say. Instead of asking if the person requesting the report expected the report to be written and handed to them, it's asking if they thought they themselves would be capable of receiving it. The implication is that they knew that something was going to happen to them that would make it impossible for them to receive the report (regardless of whether or not it was actually written, something stopped them from receiving the finished product). It's unlikely for someone to have foreknowledge of an event that will prevent them from accepting a report from somebody, so I doubt this would be said very often.
I am curious if, when you made the decision to solicit from me a report entitled 'Time as a Chimpanzee', you thought you would actually receive it.
This has the same meaning as the first sentence, with a few changes in implication. "Solicit from me a report" sounds very old-fashioned, people aren't likely to speak that way. "Solicit a report from me" is much more common. Additionally, "you thought you would actually receive it" is more rude and challenging than "you actually expected to receive it", at least in my view. With any of these sentences you're edging into dangerous territory because what you're saying is inherently a bit rude. But to me, this sentence feels even more rude than the first.
Sure, you can use unless in hypotheticals. Whether or not the situation has materialized has no bearing on whether or not you can use unless. Indeed, the purpose of unless is creating conditional clauses. Consider:
- A unless B
- Unless B, A
The constructions are ordered differently but have the same meaning; if one structure is transformed into the other, the semantics are preserved. In both cases, the statement says that B is a necessary condition for A; A is false if B is false, and B is true if A is true. However, saying that A is true if B is true a logical error. For example, your examples:
A (getting to the meeting on time) is false if B is false, because this sentence tells us the only way to get to the meeting on time was to catch an earlier train (which is if A then B). But catching an earlier train does not guarantee arriving at the meeting on time; what if I forgot my briefcase and had to go back?
Here, A is I should expect his help and B is he's my friend. This sentence says don't expect help from anyone who's not your friend (if not B, then not A). Note that just because he is your friend does not mean you should expect his help.
Notice that in sentence 2, B doesn't include not. Using not or not depends on the content of the sentence. Observe:
We will go to the park unless it rains. Unless it rains, we will go to the park.
Here, B is logically not raining, because the statement means if we don't go to the park, it must be raining.
If A then B and if not B then not A do in fact have the same meaning. For A to be true, B must also be true allows us to deduce that if B is false, A must also be false. See Wikipedia for further explanation of the logic of implication.
But the discussion of predicate logic is beyond what you've asked. Simply put, it's perfectly OK to use unless for imaginary conditionals. As for the sample sentences, your use of unless is correct. They don't sound quite natural, but in both cases it's a matter of conjugation, not conditional clause structure. Here's how I'd change them:
- I couldn't have gotten to the meeting on time — unless I had caught an earlier train.
- Unless he is my friend, I shouldn't expect his help.
Best Answer
Standing on the train platform today, waiting for Nick, you might say, anxiously:
If you narrate this tomorrow, you will backshift the tenses:
Now suppose that in fact Nick is not on time. Now your condition, your IF clause, is an irrealis or counterfactual. Just before the train leaves you might say, despairingly:
And afterwards, as the train pulls out of the station, leaving you on the platform, you might say bitterly:
What is confusing here is that would does double duty: it may act as either the past indicative form or the present conditional form of will. You have to figure out which is in play from the context.