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Anonymous Posted 11 years ago
Grammar
Would be
"Furthermore, Christian accounts — also most likely written decades later but at a time when many survivors would have been alive — tell essentially the same story." (The NYT.)
Can the perfect modal "would have been" be replaced by "would be" with the same meaning as in the above sentence?
Can the perfect modal "would have been" be replaced by "would be" with the same meaning as in the above sentence?
Top answer
nope. different usage. different meaning
- nope.
- different usage.
- different meaning
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3 Answers
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teechrnope. different usage. different meaningNope. Different usage. Different meaning.
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AnonymousCan the perfect modal "would have been" be replaced by "would be" with the same meaningNo. You need to indicate that this was in the past. They are certainly not still alive.
"would be alive" is used more often like this, where we can't say with certainty that the people involved are not still alive:
There was a terrible avalan
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