I would have thought so?
Hi! everyone.
Would you tell me what " I’d have thought so" means in the dialogue below? I couldn't understand it grammatically.
SHOOTY: It isn’t easy being a cop.
FORD: What did he say?
ZAPHOD: He said it isn’t easy being a cop.
FORD: Well, surely that’s his problem isn’t it?
ZAPHOD:* I’d have thought so. *
Thanks!
Top answer
silak12 I couldn't understand it grammatically. Grammatically it's a modal perfect tense. would have thought There's an implicit conditional sentence here.
- silak12 I couldn't understand it grammatically.
- Grammatically it's a modal perfect tense.
- would have thought There's an implicit conditional sentence here.
- If you had asked me if his problem is that it's not easy being a cop, I would have thought, "Yes, that's his problem".
- Or perhaps, If I had had some time to think about it, I would have thought that that was his problem.
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silak12I couldn't understand it grammatically.
Grammatically it's a modal perfect tense. would have thought
There's an implicit conditional sentence here.
If you had asked me if his problem is that it's not easy being a cop, I would have thought, "Yes, that's his problem".
Or perhaps,
If I had had some time to think
0It's a polite way of saying 'I think so'.
You could think of it as having an unspoken condition, eg I would have thought so (if I had thought about it before you stated it so clearly).
0
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