It would have been a good idea for him to have gone
(1) It would have been a good idea for him to have gone to that school.
Does sentence (1) alone provide sufficient information for the reader/listener to assume that "he" didn't in fact go to that school? Or do I need to follow it up with another negative/positive sentence to make the intended meaning clear, as in:
(2) It would have been a good idea for him to have gone to that school. But he didn't go there. Or
(3) It would have been a good idea for him to have gone to that school. But he went to another school.
In other words, could I use (1) if I don't know whether he really went to that school?
Top answer
Rizan Malik In other words, could I use (1) if I don't know whether he really went to that school? That seems just possible to me. Jane: I remember when Harold was looking at Princeton.
- Rizan Malik In other words, could I use (1) if I don't know whether he really went to that school?
- That seems just possible to me.
- Jane: I remember when Harold was looking at Princeton.
- Marie: It would have been a good idea for him to go to that school.
- Jane: As it happens, he did go there in the end.
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Rizan MalikIn other words, could I use (1) if I don't know whether he really went to that school?
That seems just possible to me.
Jane: I remember when Harold was looking at Princeton.
Marie: It would have been a good idea for him to go to that school.
Jane: As it happens, he did go there in the end.
I got rid of the fussy perfect in
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