How to know if ～たら is hypothetical or temporal


I encountered the following sentence in the chapter introducing conditionals
from the online grammar guide
[Imabi](http://www.imabi.net/theconditionals.htm).

> 休んだら、元気になった  
> When I rested, I got better.

Earlier, the article explained that たら can have either a hypothetical or a
temporal meaning. When the verb in the main clause is in the non-past form,
this is not an issue since the たら verb hasn't happened yet either way. To
illustrate my meaning, take the following.

> 帰ったら、食べる。  
>  When I go home, I'll eat. OR If I go home, I'll eat.

Regardless of which one is correct (most likely the first one), the action of
"go home" has not yet happened.

However, in the case when the main verb is in the past (た形), I'm wondering if
whether or not the conditional verb happened is clear or not. In other words,
**is the following translation possible?**

> 休んだら、元気になった  
> If I had rested, I would have gotten better.

**If not, how could the type of conditional above be translated?**

And

**If the main clause had a different subject than the conditional clause,
would anything in the answer change?** I'm only asking this because I have a
feeling that a sentence like 「本を読んであげたら、弟が喜びました」where the speaker would be
speculating about someone other than himself would change things (ignore this
if it is too unclear).

Source: [Imabi - 第109課: Conditionals I: The Particles と, なら(ば), たら, &
ば](http://www.imabi.net/theconditionals.htm)




> 「休んだら、元気になった。」  
>  「本を読んであげたら、弟が喜びました。」

I would interpret them as...

> "When I rested, I got better."  
>  "When I read a book for my little brother, he was delighted."

(In these examples, the たら verb happened and caused the main verb)

* * *

If I wanted to say:

> "If I had rested, I would have gotten better."  
>  "If I had read a book for my little brother, he would have been delighted."

I would say like...

> 「休んだら(or休んでいたら)、元気になった **のに** / なった **だろうに** / なった **だろう（なあ）** / なった
> **だろうけど** 。 etc...」  
>  「本を読んであげたら(orあげていたら)、弟が喜んだ **のに** / 喜んだ **でしょうに** / 喜んだ **でしょう** / 喜んだ
> **でしょうけど** 。 etc...」

(In these examples, the たら has a hypothetical meaning)

* * *

In the examples below, the たら verb has not yet happened:

> 「休んだら元気に **なる** よ / 元気に **なる** だろう。」  
>  If you rest, you will get better.  
>  「本を読んであげたら、弟が **喜びます** よ / **喜ぶ** でしょう。」  
>  If you read a book for your little brother, he will be delighted.




> 「休んだら、元気になった。」  
>  「本を読んであげたら、弟が喜びました。」

I would interpret them as...

> "When I rested, I got better."  
>  "When I read a book for my little brother, he was delighted."

(In these examples, the たら verb happened and caused the main verb)

* * *

If I wanted to say:

> "If I had rested, I would have gotten better."  
>  "If I had read a book for my little brother, he would have been delighted."

I would say like...

> 「休んだら(or休んでいたら)、元気になった **のに** / なった **だろうに** / なった **だろう（なあ）** / なった
> **だろうけど** 。 etc...」  
>  「本を読んであげたら(orあげていたら)、弟が喜んだ **のに** / 喜んだ **でしょうに** / 喜んだ **でしょう** / 喜んだ
> **でしょうけど** 。 etc...」

(In these examples, the たら has a hypothetical meaning)

* * *

In the examples below, the たら verb has not yet happened:

> 「休んだら元気に **なる** よ / 元気に **なる** だろう。」  
>  If you rest, you will get better.  
>  「本を読んであげたら、弟が **喜びます** よ / **喜ぶ** でしょう。」  
>  If you read a book for your little brother, he will be delighted.

