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Jezabel Posted 21 years ago
Grammar

Was or would have been?

Hello, some days ago a native speaker didn't attend a meeting with
me because he was sick, then he sent me an email, one of whose
lines was:

"I hated to miss the meeting, but I don't think I was very helpful."

I felt really confused about this line.
Then I realized that he meant that, as he was sick,
if he had attended he wouldn't have been useful.

Being an esl student, I'm still confused about the right way of
saying this. Could help me with this?

Thanks a lot.
  

Top answer

" I felt really confused about this line. Then I realized that he meant that, as he was sick, if he had attended he wouldn't have been useful. Being an esl student, I'm still confused about the right way of saying this.

— Just the truth

  • " I felt really confused about this line.
  • Then I realized that he meant that, as he was sick, if he had attended he wouldn't have been useful.
  • Being an esl student, I'm still confused about the right way of saying this.
  • Could help me with this?
  • == Hi Jezabel, "would have been" seems the more sensible of the two but as I'm not privy to the complete context I can't say for sure.
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2 Answers
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Hello, some days ago a native speaker didn't attend a meeting with
me because he was sick, then he sent me an email, one of whose
lines was:

"I hated to miss the meeting, but I don't think I was very helpful."

I felt really confused about this line.
Then I realized that he meant that, as he was sick,
if he had attended he wouldn't have been useful.
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Thanks just!
I am pretty sure about the meaning, and trying to explain the context
would be awkward, but I agree with you. I will specify the context next
time.
By the way, I've been surfing and looking at several fora before registering,
and this is my favorite by far.
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