have been married VS be married

[majid72]

Hello,

What's difference between the following sentences?

- He was to have been married to a girl from Canada.

- He was to be married to a girl from Canada.

Thank you.

[louhevly]

Hello,

What's difference between the following sentences?

- He was to have been married to a girl from Canada.

- He was to be married to a girl from Canada.

Thank you.

They're both technically correct but, unless you really want to emphasize that someone was forcing him into this marriage, to my ear they sound weird. They do mean basically the same thing. "He was to have married a girl from Canada" is the way I would say it.

Lou