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Zuotengdazuo Posted 9 years ago
Grammar

Would have been dead?

This except is from A School Portrait by Robert Bridges.

I have previously ask it here

https://www.italki.com/question/390768

But I want to know further why "would have pp" pattern is used here?

while I, wrapt from him in a confused mist of time, was wondering what he would think, could he know that at this actual moment he would have been dead thirty years, and that his memory would be thus preserved and honoured in the beloved school, where his delicate spirit had been so strangely troubled.


Would you tell me why "would have been dead" is used here? Why not say "was dead" or "had been dead" or "would be dead"?

Thank you.

  

Top answer

zuotengdazuo Would you tell me why "would have been dead" is used here? Because it is hypothetical. It is in the person's imagination or dreams.

— AlpheccaStars

  • zuotengdazuo Would you tell me why "would have been dead" is used here?
  • Because it is hypothetical.
  • It is in the person's imagination or dreams.
  • This writing is quite old, dating from 1915.
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2 Answers
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zuotengdazuoWould you tell me why "would have been dead" is used here?

Because it is hypothetical. It is in the person's imagination or dreams.

This writing is quite old, dating from 1915.

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while I, wrapt from him in a confused mist of time, was wondering what he would (modal) think, could (modal) he know that at this actual moment he would have been (refers to a hypothetical time before "this actual moment," so the writer uses the perfect modal) dead thirty years, and that his memory would (modal) be thus preserved

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