It would have been

Question

Are these sentences correct:1) It was an hour before the train left. 2) It would be an hour before the train left.3) It would have been an hour before the train left.4) It was an hour before the train would leave. 5) It would be an hour before the train would leave.6) It would have been an hour before the train would leave.Which of these imply that:a) the train did actually leaveb) the train did not leave (there was a problem)c) the speaker does not know if the train left or not.Gratefully, Navi.

Michael Chambers Teaching English · Accepted Answer

It's a good exercise and I'm willing to help you.  I suggest you have a go first so that we can see what you know, what you don't and your reasoning process.  Then we can build on that.

Navitasan · Answer

Thank you very much, Michael.

This is not really an 'exercise'. I made it up. The whole thing is way too complicated. It will become more complicated if we consider the fact that 'before' could be replaced with 'until'. I have been thinking about it a lot, and I think it really is too complicate. I might have confused myself, of course. That happens quite often.

1) It was an hour before the train left.
I would say the assumption here is that the train did leave. I am not sure that some people would not use this sentence, which is the simplest one, for the three cases mentions. Few people split hairs as much as I do. But to me, this implies that the train did leave.
The sentence is ambiguous as far as I can see. One meaning is:
A) After an hour, the train left.
and the other is:
B) It was a hour before the time at which the train left.

2) It would be an hour before the train left. The train did leave. The sentence could mean A, and it also could mean B, but B is expressed conditionally. The speaker is guessing the time. The train might have left a little later or a little earlier.

3) It would have been an hour before the train left.The train did leave, Both meanings A and B, but expressed tentatively. My guess is that....

4) It was an hour before the train would leave. This one could mean 'A', but the implication is that there is some annoyance about a delay (... would finally leave) It could also mean 'B', but again there is an expression of annoyance.
5) It would be an hour before the train would leave. Same as above, but the ideas are expressed somewhat tentatively. The speaker is not quite sure if it was one hour or a little more or a little less.
6) It would have been an hour before the train would leave. This is a very strange conditional sentence. Something did not happen. That event would have happened an hour before the train would leave. It is possible that the train did not leave. Is there an expression of annoyance? Yes, if the train did indeed leave.

Michael Chambers Teaching English · Answer

1) It was an hour before the train left.
This sentence would make sense :
a) if you were setting the scene for a past event, which you are locating in time by referring to the time when the train left
b) if you wanted to stress how long the delay was before the train left, perhaps as an answer to : "How long was it before the train left?"
The train did actually leave.

2) It would be an hour before the train left.
This would make sense in a similar situation to 1 a) above. The writer takes us back in time to a situation one hour before the train left. At that time, the people in the situation did not know how long the delay to the train would be. "would" is the past of "will" in this case. The meaning is similar to :
"It turned out that the train left an hour later."
The train did actually leave but it was after an hour - no more or less. We are not approximating the time.

3) It would have been an hour before the train left.
The train did leave - yes.
This is similar in meaning to "it must have been...". It's a logical deduction in order to determine what happened in the past. In this case, the 1 hour time is being deduced.

4) It was an hour before the train would leave.
I can't think of a situation where this would make sense. There is no obvious sense of annoyance here.
You could have a reported sentence like this :
"He told me that it would be an hour before the train leaves / would leave."
I am not sure if "leave" here is actually wrong. If it is, it is a common mistake and it would cause no ambiguity.
Again, we are taken back in time to one hour before the train left, when the predicted future is being discussed.

5) It would be an hour before the train would leave.
See above.

6) It would have been an hour before the train would leave. The meaning understood would be the same as 4. but the "would leave" sounds awkward, even though I think it is correct.

None of your sentences are conditionals.

Some of these questions are a little tricky for me. There are much more experienced grammar experts on here than myself so their views would be welcome by me too. Kind regards, Michael

Navitasan · Answer

Wow!!!
Thank you very very much, Michael !
This was very tough and very complicated. I loved your reply and I really appreciate it.
I know that some of my questions (nay! all of them!!) are complicated, but this one was really something. I believe that in certain cases different people might have different takes on the same sentence. That is normal. It happens with every language. I love having different viewpoints on my example sentences. But the ones we have here are really complicated. The moderators on this site are truly great. They are extremely knowledgeable, but this question is really too long and too complicated. I really appreciate what you did.

Thank you again!

Respectfully,
Navi

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