I WOULD'VE LIKED TO SEE VS. I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE SEEN.
1. I would have liked to see Tom's face when she told him that yesterday.
2. I would like to have seen Tom's face when she told him that yesterday.
a) Are both sentences grammatically correct?
b) Do both mean the same?
Personally, I would 'yes' to both questions.
Top answer
Only the first one works for me. It is all in the past tense, and the tenses must agree.
- Only the first one works for me.
- It is all in the past tense, and the tenses must agree.
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Only the first one works for me. It is all in the past tense, and the tenses must agree.
0There is a similar example in a book called A Practical English Grammar for Foreign Students by A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet. The authors would accept both your sentences and even a third one: I would have liked to have seen Tom's face when she told him that yesterday.
CB
0Eric 2292a) Are both sentences grammatically correct?
b) Do both mean the same?
a) yes
b) yes
The first of the two is the version most often recommended in grammar books.
CJ
0
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