A special use of "would have"?
His fur was white, where the rest of the litter was grey. His eyes were as red as the blood of the ragged man who had died that morning. Bran thought it curious that this pup alone would have opened his eyes while the others were still blind.
Hi, dear teachers. This quote is from A Game of Thrones. I already asked this question here:
https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/would-have-open-his-eyes.3335975/#post-16901259
I don't think this "would have" expresses counterfactuality or assumption/belief.
dojibear thinks the "would have" here means "an unlikely possibility", but he is not sure. Do you agree with him?
I think it expresses Bran's surprise at the fact that the pup's eyes open, so "should have" also works here. What do you think this use means?
Thank you.
Top answer
zuotengdazuo I don't think this "would have" expresses counterfactuality Correct. zuotengdazuo dojibear thinks the "would have" here means "an unlikely possibility", but he is not sure. Do you agree with him?
- zuotengdazuo I don't think this "would have" expresses counterfactuality Correct.
- zuotengdazuo dojibear thinks the "would have" here means "an unlikely possibility", but he is not sure.
- Do you agree with him?
- No.
- That's not the reason for 'would have'.
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zuotengdazuoI don't think this "would have" expresses counterfactuality
Correct.
zuotengdazuodojibear thinks the "would have" here means "an unlikely possibility", but he is not sure. Do you agree with him?
No. That's not the reason for 'would have'.
zuotengdazuoI think it expresses Bra
0
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