Would Have Been

Would Have Been

by Mirch Masala
(Karachi, Pakistan)

Suppose someone gave me money in the form of cheque, and I am not happy with that, because I wanted money in the form of cash.

Is it correct to say, "I would have been more satisfied if she gives me cash."

Ola's answer:

There is a problem with this sentence since you are mixing conditionals.

The first part of your sentence, "I would have been more satisfied," belongs to the third conditional.

(The third conditional is the way we say that something is contrary to past facts. Or in other words: it didn't really happen.)

The way to write such a sentence is the following:

If + Past Perfect, + Would Have + V3

OR

Would Have + V3 + If + Past Perfect

So, in your case, the correct sentence would be:

"I would have been more satisfied if she had given me cash."

Comments for Would Have Been

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Aug 12, 2011
Please elaborate it more!
by: Mirch Masala

Thanks very much!

I am a little bit confused between the use of "would have" and "would have been" in sentences.

Is there any difference between the following two sentences?

1) "I would have more satisfied if she had given me cash instead of cheque."

2) "I would have been more satisfied if she had given me cash instead of cheque."

Regards,
Mirch

Ola's answer:

Yes, there is a difference.

HAVE can be used both as a main verb and a helping verb.

HAVE as the main verb:

- I have a car.
- They have a few good friends.
- You will have lots of money.

HAVE as the helping verb:

- I have sold my car.
- They have found a cat.
- We have been waiting for half an hour.

Do you see the difference?

In the first three sentences, the meaning of the verb HAVE is connected to owning.

In the last three sentences, the verb HAVE has no meaning on its own. It's combined with another verb to show the perfect tense.

Now, regarding your two sentences:

The second sentence is correct.

The first sentence isn't.

Here is why:

In "would have been" HAVE is a helping verb. It is combined together with WOULD and BEEN (form of the verb BE). The main verb of this sentence is BE.

In a different tense, it's the same as saying, "I am more satisfied."

Now, in "would have" HAVE is the main verb.

In a different tense, it's the same as saying, "I have more satisfied," which means "I own more satisfied." And you can't say that, can you? :)

Here are some useful links that will help you understand my answer:

Main Verbs, Auxiliary Verbs, Helping Verbs, and Compound Verbs
A Question on Linking Verbs and Helping Verbs Question
The Present Perfect Tense

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