0
Contraposition Posted 11 years ago
What meaning is intended by the two 'would have past participle'? Are they conditional?
Grammar
would have past participle
What meaning is intended by the two 'would have past participle'? Are they conditional?
Top answer
I read it as If the spells' effects had been reversed (but Dumbledore apparently thinks they were not), all that would have happened is/was a kind of reverse echo and a shadow of the living Cedric would have emerged .
- I read it as If the spells' effects had been reversed (but Dumbledore apparently thinks they were not), all that would have happened is/was a kind of reverse echo and a shadow of the living Cedric would have emerged .
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
2 Answers
0
I read it as
If the spells' effects had been reversed (but Dumbledore apparently thinks they were not), all that would have happened is/was a kind of reverse echo and a shadow of the living Cedric would have emerged.
If the spells' effects had been reversed (but Dumbledore apparently thinks they were not), all that would have happened is/was a kind of reverse echo and a shadow of the living Cedric would have emerged.
00
contrapositionWhat meaning is intended by the two 'would have past participle'?They are counterfactual statements, like almost all "would have" + past participle constructions. They are imagined results of an imagined situation. (So yes, there is a conditional component.)
"X would have happened" is like "X happened", but in an imagined world
0
Related Questions