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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

Guarantee

Great plan, but that was no guarantee it would be a successful one.

Is this sentence correct in past tense? Or, must it be in present tense? Because I am assuming 'would' is used in present tense (like "He thinks it would be alright)? WHat I want to know is: if I want it in the past tense, how else do I write it without 'would' (assuming 'would' cannot be used here)?
  

Top answer

The use of "would" is correct: it indicates future-in-the-past. " places the viewpoint in the past. Then, "it would be" looks forward to the future from that past viewpoint.

— Mr Wordy

  • The use of "would" is correct: it indicates future-in-the-past.
  • " places the viewpoint in the past.
  • Then, "it would be" looks forward to the future from that past viewpoint.
  • "
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5 Answers
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The use of "would" is correct: it indicates future-in-the-past. First, "that was no guarantee..." places the viewpoint in the past. Then, "it would be" looks forward to the future from that past viewpoint. Another example: "He was an average student, but he would go on to become one of the greatest scientists of his generation."

The sentence you quote is an abbreviated sentence that woul
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Thanks, Mr. Wordy. I wondered whether 'would have' would be correct since the first half of the sentence (that was no guarantee) is past tense. That is no guarantee it would succeed. (is followed by would) vs. That was no guarantee it would have succeeded (was followed by would have).
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"That was no guarantee it would succeed" is the past-tense form of "That is no guarantee it will succeed".
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Thanks for clearing that up, Mr. Wordy. I thought words like would/could/should had no tense and that we must add 'have' to make it past tense. Or, it'd be construed as present tense without the auxiliary verb.
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AnonymousI thought words like would/could/should had no tense
Although in this particular example it makes sense to think of "would" as a past tense of "will", there are other uses of the word "would" where this isn't really the case.
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