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Deepuji Posted 10 years ago
Grammar

Please look at the following

An encounter with 87-year-old Deepak Shodhan, who played three Tests for India in 1952-53, but had the talent and the record to have played many more."

Is the usage of 'to have played many more' correct here? If yes then please tell what the difference is between the following two sentences in this context

1. but had the talent to play many more

2. but had the talent to have played many more

Thank you.
  

Top answer

Yes, I would use "to have played many more" since we are talking about events that are completely in the past. That would be the preferred usage. "To play" suggests current action, although informally it may be used to speak about past action.

— Doctor D

  • Yes, I would use "to have played many more" since we are talking about events that are completely in the past.
  • That would be the preferred usage.
  • "To play" suggests current action, although informally it may be used to speak about past action.
  • If I were to use "to play," I would change the earlier verb.
  • Thus: He has the talent to play many more.
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1 Answers
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Yes, I would use "to have played many more" since we are talking about events that are completely in the past. That would be the preferred usage. "To play" suggests current action, although informally it may be used to speak about past action. If I were to use "to play," I would change the earlier verb. Thus:
He has the talent to play many more.

Note: the sentence as
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