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Anonymous Posted 10 years ago
Vocabulary
Was to have been
"This document - with the Cold War over and the Soviet Union gone - was to have been the start of a new, more constructive relationship." (The Guardian.)
Would there be any difference in meaning if the verb phrase "was to have been" was replaced with "was to be" in the above?
Would there be any difference in meaning if the verb phrase "was to have been" was replaced with "was to be" in the above?
Top answer
Anonymous Would there be any difference in meaning if the verb phrase "was to have been" was replaced with "was to be" in the above? Not really. There is only the nearly negligible difference that "was to have been" suggests something counterfactual a little more strongly.
- Anonymous Would there be any difference in meaning if the verb phrase "was to have been" was replaced with "was to be" in the above?
- Not really.
- There is only the nearly negligible difference that "was to have been" suggests something counterfactual a little more strongly.
- CJ
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2 Answers
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AnonymousWould there be any difference in meaning if the verb phrase "was to have been" was replaced with "was to be" in the above?Not really. There is only the nearly negligible difference that "was to have been" suggests something counterfactual a little more strongly.
CJ
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