Language evidently is not a system. It is more than finite options.
None of the President quotes here has error.
More than that, and breaking precedent once more, I do not intend to commence any sentence with these words ― “If George Washington had been alive today”, or “If Thomas Jefferson”, or “If Alexander Hamilton”, or “If Abraham Lincoln had been alive today…”
― Theodore Roosevelt
If Lincoln were alive today, he’d be turning over in his grave.
― Gerald Ford
If men were angels, no government would be necessary.
― James Madison
“If I had permitted my failures, or what seemed to me at the time a lack of success, to discourage me, I cannot see any way in which I would ever have made progress.”
― Calvin Coolidge
We may return to our symbolic line for time. Our Present today is not going to be our Present tomorrow. All days in the Past were once our Present.
We may first compare the real-time and the figurative premise.
Real time
Lincoln was alive today…?
Lincoln is alive…?
Men are angels…?
I have permitted…?
Figurative talk
If Lincoln had been alive…
If Lincoln were…
If men were…
If I had permitted…
Let us now compare the real-time and the figurative consequent.
Real time sense
Lincoln is not turning over…
Government is necessary.
I have made progress.
Figurative talk
Lincoln would be turning over…
No government would be…
How I would have made…
Figurative talk is in a way relative, but it is not merely parallel to real time. Let us think about guessing the premise for language as in example 92.
92. She would have made progress.
If we choose the closed Modal frame, we do not have to ponder, if —
she has made / has not made; she had made / had not made; she does make / does not make; did make / did not make progress, or will make / will not make; will have made; or even will not have made progress.
Telling the premise could be cumbersome most of the time, and so the closed Modal frame does not make us simplistic: we are realistic, about talk and time.
The Modal frame closes on the object of thought rather than any particular time extent. This is why forms many as above could be real-time premise to the closed frame in 92,
She would have made progress.
The real-time frame closes on a time extent, and opens only for the Aspect Perfect, where the time reference is not singular:
92b. Calvin Coolidge had made progress, and spoke about it.
To choose between objects of thought or real time extents, we do not need “Unreal time.” The decision is absolutely ours:
No group and no Government can properly prescribe precisely what should constitute the body of knowledge with which true education is concerned.
— President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Let us consider the Relative Progressive, feel welcome.
■10.2. FORM RELATIVITY AND THE PROGRESSIVE