mY cONFusION

Question

Could someone plz describe structure of the following sentences ?I WOULD HAVE SENT........I WOULD HAVE BEEN REPLIED...............

Avangi · Accepted Answer

Just a comment (an aside) - I'd best leave the "would" terminology to the ESL folks.

You've shot yourself in the foot by changing verbs.

(active transitive) I would have sent you a present, but I was broke.

(passive) I would have been sent to Timbuctu if my mother hadn't interceded.

"To send" takes a direct object and may take an indirect object. I sent flowers. I sent her flowers. I sent flowers to my daughter. (I'm not sure if the prepositional phrase "to my daughter" is still considered an indirect object, or if the phrase is said to be an adverbial modifier of "sent.")

"To reply" is intransitive, like "to lie." You may have had your reasons for choosing this verb for your second example, but it confuses the active/passive issue.

Somehow, you can use it in the passive, "I was lied to." I wish I knew how to analyze that one.

I would have been replied to in a more timely fashion if Jack had not lost my email address. (not exactly the most natural way to put it) As you can see, the "would's" are conditional.

- A.

CalifJim · Answer

First of all, they aren't sentences. You need to complete the thought to have sentences.
For example,
I would have sent you a letter is a sentence.
Secondly, reply can't be used in the passive. There is no such thing as be replied. You'll have to change the verb. Let's say,
I would have been seen.
____
That said, would have sent and would have been seen are verb phrases. The first is active; the second is passive. would is a modal verb.

I is a subject pronoun.
Other than that, I don't know what you need in terms of describing the structure.
CJ

D_say · Answer

Would it be a correct grammar if I used "would have been" instead of "would" in the second sentence or I'm required to use "by now " instead of "now" in the second sentence :

"If I had done it a year ago I would be rich now."

"If I had done it a year ago I would have been rich now /by now."

I'd also like to know whether the "If I did.." construction with past time adverbs is possible in any context, i.e :

"If I did it a year ago/ a week ago/long before...
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If I had done it a year ago, I would be rich now. Or: If I had done it a year ago, I would have become rich by now.

If I did it a year ago, I certainly remember nothing about it!

Did is a simple past tense verb form in the above sentence, not a subjunctive. In languages that use more inflections than English, the difference between indicative and subjunctive is very clear and no one has to ponder whether a sentence like the one above is correct or not.
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Sorry, I've edited my question because I need to reformulate it . I hope it hasn't made any inconvenience.

Can you shed some light on why "..would have been rich by now" is unacceptable CoolBreeze ?

Thank you again

=

I would like to ask if the construction " would have been + adjective" is incorrect generally ?

There are millions of possibilities to form a sentence and therefore it's impossible to say that something is always wrong or always right. It's the combination of would have been plus now that jars in my ear. Others may have different opinions.

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