Konjunktiv II question

Question

I am getting to grips with the subjunctive in German and would like to know whether

Wenn Andy nicht Englisch und Holländisch gesprochen könnte, ...

Is correct, and whether it is another way of saying:

Wenn Andy nicht Englisch und Holländisch gesprochen hätte, ...

I guess what I am really asking is does the subjunctive past always have to be formed with "hätt-" or "wär-"?

Answer 1

The first sentence is incorrect. It can be turned into a correct sentence by adding "haben":

Wenn Andy nicht Englisch und Holländisch gesprochen haben könnte, ...

But the meaning is maybe not the intended one: If Andy could not have spoken English and Dutch, ...

There is no way to turn subjunctive II into preterite, because the form of the subjunctive II is already that of a subjunctive preterite. If you want to turn subjunctive II into past, you have to take the perfect and turn the auxiliary (haben or sein) into subjunctive II:

(Present)

Wenn Andy Englisch spräche, ...

(Past)

Wenn Andy Englisch gesprochen hätte,...

So the answer to the second question is effectively yes.

Answer 2

The sentence "Wenn Andy nicht Englisch und Holländisch gesprochen könnte, ..." is not grammatically correct. Possibly, you are mixing up two different conditions:

1. [Andy spoke English and Dutch.] But if he had not spoken English and Dutch: "Wenn Andy nicht Englisch und Niederländisch gesprochen hätte, ..."

2. [Andy could speak English and Dutch.] But if he had not been able to speak English and Dutch: "Wenn Andy nicht Englisch und Niederländisch hätte sprechen können, ..."

The second constructions refers to ability or possibility, while the first sentence refers to what Andy actually did. (The English version of the first sentence can be read as referring to ability, but I'm trying to highlight two different intended meanings.) Both sentences are examples of "irreale Bedingungssätze"; see for example Der Gebrauch des Konjunktivs II.