Would have been

a) ... would be to stay .......

b) ..... have no choice .......

Using ' would have been or had ' isn't logical in both sentences I guess. They should be used for the 3rd conditional case in a sentence.

eg. If he were a heavy weight, the only thing he could do would have been to stay on the ground forever.

B is correct. For A to be grammatically correct and the same in meaning, I would say "Because of their heavy weight, the only thing they could have done was stay on the ground forever."

Could I say, "Because of their heavy weight, the only thing they could have done would have been to stay on the ground forever"?

Kamo

I think "b" is correct,but not "a"! In sentence "a" you can`t say "would have been",and in general it`s wrong to say that in this sentence!

I am afraid this sentence is a bit difficult to understand.

"Because of their heavy weight, the only thing they could have done would have been to stay on the ground forever," is an ugainly sentence. That alone is reason not to say it.

So, finally, a) is wrong and b) is correct. Right?

a) Because of their heavy weight, the only thing they could do would have been to stay.
b) Because of their heavy weight, the only thing they could have done was to stay.

Could anyone explain why a) is wrong?
Kamo Shushoku

I'm sorry to post this message, but it's interesting of you to ask why it's wrong! I'd like you to look through The English Grammar carefully, and then I think you'll get it, ok?

Dear Sir, do you mean you know the answer but you won't tell me? Then, the only thing I can do now is to wait for someone else's help.

I suppose everyone agrees that a) is grammatically correct.

a) If I had been in that situation, I would have had no choice but to stay there.

Then, how about these two sentences?

b) If I had been in that situation, the only

I put it that a) b) c) are fine with me.

The use of ' was ' is not in conflict with the conditional case since we can refer a hypothetical situation from the past.