Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[SaSaches]

Could someone tell me if these two sentences are correct?
1.If we were informed earlier , we would not have reacted that strongly.
2.If we had been informed earlier , we would not have reacted that strongly.
If they are both correct , what's the difference?
Thank you everyone~~~

[2006]

Both are correct and there is no difference in meaning.
The first one uses the simple past tense, which you can also call the subjunctive verb form, and the second uses past perfect tense.

[SaSaches]

thank you ,2006.
But I am so sorry that I still have one question.
Can I use this sentence instead of those two?Is it the same?
If we were informed earlier , we would not react that strongly.

[2006]

No, it is not the same and you cannot use it to talk about a past event. You have to say "If we were informed earlier, we would not have reacted that strongly."