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CalifJimanonymousI thought he would have been a pretty good guy for the group. (But he didn’t wasn't)It means I presumed he had been a pretty good guy for the group. Correct?I presumed he was going to be a pretty good guy for the group is a better paraphrase. 'had been' doesn't seem to work for me as a good way to say it. Is that what I said earlier? CJThank you for your response. You said it means ‘was going to’. Then, I could just say, “I thought he would be a pretty good guy for the group.” with the exact same meaning. I am trying to figure out the difference between the following.a: I thought he would have been a pretty good guy for the group.b: I thought he would be a pretty good guy for the group.What’s the difference between them then if they both mean I presumed he was going to be a pretty good guy for the group?

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

anonymousThen, I could just say, “I thought he would be a pretty good guy for the group.” with the exact same meaning.

The two are so similar that it is sometimes hard to find any differences.

anonymousI am trying to figure out the difference between the following.
a: I thought he would have been a pretty good guy for the group.
b: I thought he would be a pretty good guy for the group.

It may surprise you to hear that I, too, would like to know the difference between those. We are now working on the edges of my ability to explain this.

All I can say is that 'would have' sounds farther in the past for me. In a, I get the impression that 'would have been' is before the time of 'I thought'. In b, I feel that 'would' and 'I thought' are at about the same time.

a can be used to express confirmation that he really was a good guy for the group ("Just what I thought, and I was right") or disappointment that he really was not a good guy for the group (disappointment; "Not what I thought, so it seems I was wrong").

But b can also be used to express either of those things.

I think it's one of those cases where either the simple form or the perfect form of the same verb can be used without much of a change in meaning.

I think he will arrive by 6 pm. ~ I think he will have arrived by 6 pm.
Let's just wait until he falls asleep. ~ Let's just wait until he has fallen asleep.

With the simple construction we think of time moving forward, and only forward. We then observe what happens when we get there.

With the perfect construction we think of time moving forward, then stopping. Then we look a little backwards in time to see what just happened before we stopped.

CJ

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