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a1) They could have said they would have given up their dream.

b1) They could have said they would give up their dream.

Which one is correct? Isn't it the so-called double conditional, which makes (a1) incorrect? I tried to make it a little bit easier and rewrote those sentences in the present tense, but still, it doesn't make any sense.

a2) They could say they would give up their dream.

b2) They could say they will give up their dream.

I feel like (a) is incorrect in both dimensions, whereas (b) acts like some sort of mixed conditional here. Am I wrong? Maybe all of these sentences are correct. If so, what's the difference?

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    Those all mean completely different things. I wonder why you might think any of them is wrong. Did you have some meaning in mind?
    – tchrist
    Commented Aug 3, 2022 at 0:47
  • Indeed, all are possible. It's just a matter of when they didn't say or might say what they didn't do or might do :)
    – Luke Sawczak
    Commented Aug 3, 2022 at 13:36

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Here is my understanding of each of these sentences:

a1) "They could have said they would have given up their dream." They could have said in the past that they would have given up their dream (for an undisclosed reason or condition).

b1) "They could have said they would give up their dream." They could have said in the past that they would give up their dream in the near or far future.

a2) "They could say they would give up their dream." They could say (but they haven't said it) that they would give up their dream (for an undisclosed reason or condition).

b2) "They could say they will give up their dream." They could more definite and say that they will give up their dream.

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