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Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
Past conditional statements affecting the present
In the sentence, "He would have been 65 years old today," what is the implied antecedent clause (if that's a proper term)? Would it be "If he hadn't died"?
And if we are talking about the effects on the present of something that hadn't happened in the past, why wouldn't it be, "If he hadn't died, he would be 65 years old today"?
Thank you
And if we are talking about the effects on the present of something that hadn't happened in the past, why wouldn't it be, "If he hadn't died, he would be 65 years old today"?
Thank you
Top answer
"Would have been" vs "would be" is a stylistic choice in this case. Either one is fine. If it helps you understand the "would have been" phrasing, maybe you can think of the sentence as implying "He would have been 65 years old today (if he hadn't have died)".
- "Would have been" vs "would be" is a stylistic choice in this case.
- Either one is fine.
- If it helps you understand the "would have been" phrasing, maybe you can think of the sentence as implying "He would have been 65 years old today (if he hadn't have died)".
- "Hadn't have died" is, of course, redundant, but it's inescapable, at least in American English.
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1 Answers
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"Would have been" vs "would be" is a stylistic choice in this case. Either one is fine.
If it helps you understand the "would have been" phrasing, maybe you can think of the sentence as implying "He would have been 65 years old today (if he hadn't have died)". "Hadn't have died" is, of course, redundant, but it's inescapable, at least in American English.
If it helps you understand the "would have been" phrasing, maybe you can think of the sentence as implying "He would have been 65 years old today (if he hadn't have died)". "Hadn't have died" is, of course, redundant, but it's inescapable, at least in American English.
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