would have been, should have been?

It is poorly written. I guess they meant, "My answer to this questions would have been different if the missing info had been there."

Actually it was a novel translation. The full background is the inspector said:

"I think David committed the crime, but I'm not sure my answer to this would have been different should the missing info have been there" - the missing info is still missing...

thanks.

That is a little different. It matters what words are there and what order they are in. In British English, "should" is used in conditionals where an American might use the subjunctive or a form with "have", or just let "if" do all the work. There is a child's prayer that I learned by rote when I was little:

Now I lay me down to sleep.
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
If I should

sorry, I still don't understand, it has become more complicated now. So, what they said would make sense to you as an English speaking person? My comment they should use "if the missing info were there" instead of "if the missing info should have been there".

What U think? thanks so much

peterchanSo, what they said would make sense to you as an English speaking person?

Yes, perfect sense. I would have to throw the switch in my head over to British English, though.

peterchanMy comment they should use "if the missing info were there" instead of "if the missing info should have been there".

"Were" is the wrong

peterchanI'm not sure my answer to this would have been different should the missing info have been there.

The writer is using 'should ... have' as 'even if ... had'. It's very unusual to see this. It's so unusual that I doubt you'll see it again in the rest of your life.