Type 3 conditional vs mixed conditional

Question

I have to comment on the following situation using an if clause (i.e. write a conditional sentence regarding the given situation) :

They never agree to anything I suggest. That's how they lost that house which was a bargain.

I cannot decide between

If they agreed to my suggestion, they wouldn't have lost that house which was a bargain.

and

If they had agreed to my suggestion, they wouldn't have lost that house which was a bargain.

Semantically, I believe that the first sentence is correct, but it doesn't sound grammatically correct to me. This is why I want to see what you think about this.

Answer 1

I think semantically both the sentences are correct.But grammatically the past perfect is considered to be the correct form according to purists.

But these days past perfect is being slowy replaced by simple past.I have seen many sentences of this kind being taught to the class by the native speakers and many news items are with the simple past.

If they agreed to my suggestion, they would not have lost that house which was a bargain.

If they had agreed to my suggestion, they would not have lost that house which was a bargain.

I think both the sentences are correct and mean the samething.

They did not agree to my suggestion and so they lost their house.