would have

Question

Nobody had thought Columbia would have come this far in the world cup 2014.
Is this a correct sentence? If it's correct can we use just simple past like: 'Nobody didn't think .....'?

One more question, what's its present form like: I don't think Columbia will have gone that far. Its past is 'I didn't think Columbia would have come this far'. Is would past of will there in the question? I am confused. Please help.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

tenjing Nobody had thought Columbia would have come this far in the world cup 2014.Is this a correct sentence? If it's correct can we use just simple past like: 'Nobody didn't think .....'?One more question, what's its present form like: I don't think Columbia will have gone that far. Its past is 'I didn't think Columbia would have come this far'. Is would past of will there in the question? I am confused. Please help.

Nobody had thought Columbia would come that far in the world cup 2014.
Nobody thought Columbia would come that far in the world cup 2014.

I don't think Columbia will have come that far.
I didn't think Columbia would come that far.

*Nobody didn't think is wrong, it should be Nobody thought as the negation is in the pronoun (Nobody) itself.

Tenjing · Answer

I am still not clear.

Tenjing · Answer

What's the difference between these sentences?
A. Nobody had thought Columbia would come this far.
B. Nobody thought Columbia would come this far.
(Suppose Columbia is still playing in the world cup 2014 and I am surprised to see them come this far, this is the context) . So please would you tell me the correct sentence?

GPY · Answer

tenjing What's the difference between these sentences?A. Nobody had thought Columbia would come this far.B. Nobody thought Columbia would come this far.(Suppose Columbia is still playing in the world cup 2014 and I am surprised to see them come this far, this is the context) . So please would you tell me the correct sentence?

When said in the present, there seems little difference. Past perfect "had thought" explicitly refers to a time before the point at which people realised that they would come this far, but the meaning is clear enough anyway, even with the simple past.

If said about the past, there may be more motivation to use the past perfect, depending on the wider context and tense usage.

Laborious · Answer

tenjingNobody had thought Columbia would have come this far in the world cup 2014

Isn't the above sentence unnatural? Honesty speaking, 'would have gone' doesn't really make any sense to me, but does it to you people, please? I understand what 'would go' suggests in that sentence, but I'm confused about 'would have gone'.

Thanks.

Anonymous · Answer

Laborious tenjingNobody had thought Columbia would have come this far in the world cup 2014Isn't the above sentence unnatural? Honesty speaking, 'would have gone' doesn't really make any sense to me, but does it to you people, please? I understand what 'would go' suggests in that sentence, but I'm confused about 'would have gone'.Thanks.

I agree. As the author of the OP suggests, the "would have gone" here, is a tense back-shift from "will have gone". But it is in conflict with the fact that we use "would have gone" when talking about something that didn't happen in the past.

GPY · Answer

Laborious tenjingNobody had thought Columbia would have come this far in the world cup 2014Isn't the above sentence unnatural? Honesty speaking, 'would have gone' doesn't really make any sense to me, but does it to you people, please? I understand what 'would go' suggests in that sentence, but I'm confused about 'would have gone'.Thanks.

The tense combination seems convoluted, and I can't see a way to justify it.

would have

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