Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[fw]

Hello everyone.

Which is appropriate for the blank in the passage below, #1, #2, or #3?
1. was
2. were
3. had been

In the Sri Lankan camp, Dr. Kanto found that the treatment varied according to the severity of the patients� condition. It took her a while to get used to this.

�For example, I examined a child with a serious disease. When I saw the child, it was too late. If this had occurred in Japan, a doctor would have tried everything possible to cure the child, even if the chance ( ) small. There, however, we were very short of medical equipment. We could not use precious oxygen for patients who were incurable.� Dr. Kanto remembers feeling terrible when she had to turn off the oxygen. There was no choice. But she still doesn�t know whether she did right or not.

Best regards,
Fw

[ebb]

Which is appropriate for the blank in the passage below, #1, #2, or #3?
1. was
2. were
3. had been

In the Sri Lankan camp, Dr. Kanto found that the treatment varied according to the severity of the patients� condition. It took her a while to get used to this.

�For example, I examined a child with a serious disease. When I saw the child, it was too late. If this had occurred in Japan, a doctor would have tried everything possible to cure the child, even if the chance ( ) small. There, however, we were very short of medical equipment. We could not use precious oxygen for patients who were incurable.� Dr. Kanto remembers feeling terrible when she had to turn off the oxygen. There was no choice. But she still doesn�t know whether she did right or not.

Good start in seeing that it must be in some past tense form.

"Was" will never be correct, because the sentence is hypothetical and counter-factual. The event was not in Japan; it is only conjectured that it might have been -- so the subjunctive is in order.

"If he were a real sailor, he would not be disturbed by this foul weather."

"Linda would object to the principal's decision if she were the child's real mother."

"Had we but world enough, and time, / This coyness, Lady, were no crime." Andrew Marvell, (17th century English poet), first lines of "To His Coy Mistress"

In your example, I would say "even had the chance been small."

But I believe "were" may also be correct -- the "had been" construction better conveys the time relationships imho. Any other pundits to take a view?
_________________
"This is insolence up with which I will not put." Winston Churchill, upon reading a newspaper�s criticism of his having ended a sentence with a preposition.

"You can get more with a kind word and a gun, than with just a kind word." Al Capone.

[lotus]

Hi fw,

I would have changed chance to chances and picked "were." Here is the sentence paraphrased.

A doctor would have tried everything possible, even if the chances were small.


--lotus

[lotus]

a clearer paraphrase:

A (Japanese) doctor would have tried everything possible, even if the chances were small.


--lotus

[MrPedantic]

Hello Fw

The problem here is that "even if" can have two meanings:

A) "in the unlikely event that";

B) "even though", or "despite the fact that".

When it means A, you can use a subjunctive:

1. Even if my father were the murderer, I wouldn't hand him over to the police.

When it means B, you use the indicative:

2. Even if my father was the murderer, I'm not going to hand him over to the police.

In your sentence, we know from the context that B is the correct meaning:

3. If this had occurred in Japan, a doctor would have tried everything possible to cure the child, [despite the fact that] the chance (of recovery)was small.

The smallness of the chance of recovery is not part of the conjecture: it is part of the real situation. Therefore the indicative "was" is required.

MrP

[fw]

Thank you, all.

Your comments really help.

MrPedantic's explanation, especially, explains the divided answers of yours.

fw