0
Anonymous Posted 9 years ago
Grammar

Read

If I say "I wanted to have been reading that book.", does it mean I wanted to read before another action in the past happened?
  

Top answer

No. It means that I wanted to have been in the process of reading that book before another action in the past happened. I think you mean "I wanted to have read that book".

— Clive

  • No.
  • It means that I wanted to have been in the process of reading that book before another action in the past happened.
  • I think you mean "I wanted to have read that book".
  • This means that I wanted to have completed the action of reading that book before another action in the past happened.
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

2 Answers
0

No. It means that I wanted to have been in the process of reading that book before another action in the past happened.

I think you mean "I wanted to have read that book". This means that I wanted to have completed the action of reading that book before another action in the past happened.

0
0

Anonymous

No, and no. It says you wanted to have been reading it, not to read it. And it implies that you wanted this to have been happening before something else occurred, whether in the past, present or future.
The sentence "I wanted to have been reading that book" is grammatically ok, but it raises the question,
0

Related Questions