What does 'they would have made a search" mean?

[joham]

I'm quite certain they would have made a search and found him. This sentence is taken from COLLINS COBUILD ENGLISH USAGE. The Chinese translation of this dictionary translates this sentence as something like 'I'm quite certain they made a search and found him'.

But I would think they didn't make any search for him. But if they had learned about his disappearing, they would have made a search and found him. However, the fact is, they didn't learn about it. Am I right?

 

[Barb_D]

You're right in that the did not search for him.
But it's not necessarily so that he disappeared and they didn't know about it.
It could be that he never went missing in the first place.

 

[Matthew Wai]

I'm quite certain they would have made a search and found him if he had gone missing/if they had discovered him missing.

The red part is the third conditional where both the main clause and if clause had not happened.
Is it correct?

 

[SoothingDave]

You don't "make" a search. You conduct a search.

 

[Matthew Wai]

But it was quoted from COLLINS COBUILD ENGLISH USAGE, how can it be wrong?

 

[SoothingDave]

Maybe they "make" searches in BrE. It's an odd choice of words for me. I could even see "do a search" in some cases, but not "make."

 

[lotus888]

I'm quite certain they would have made a search (effort) and found him.

It's possible the person was lost/missing, but was found quickly before the search effort began.


I agree that it's not the best choice of words.


--lotus

 

[emsr2d2]

We make searches in BrE.

 

[Raymott]

"They would have made a search and found him" does not imply that they didn't make a search - if that's the quote we are talking about.
If the sentence is "They would have made a search", it still applies. Yes, you can change the meaning by adding an if-clause, but I don't think one appears in the original.

"I heard that Peter was lost all last week. But I saw him today at school."
"They would have made a search and found him" - They made a search.
The Chinese translation is mostly correct in this sense. I don't know where they get their certainty from though.

"They would have ..." means "I suspect they did", as well as a few other things depending on the grammatical context.

 

[Matthew Wai]

I'm quite certain they would have ...

"They would have ..." means "I suspect they did"

Is 'quite certain' in keeping with 'suspect'?

 

[Raymott]

Is 'quite certain' in keeping with 'suspect'?

No, it's wrong.

 

[joham]

"They would have made a search and found him" does not imply that they didn't make a search - if that's the quote we are talking about.
If the sentence is "They would have made a search", it still applies. Yes, you can change the meaning by adding an if-clause, but I don't think one appears in the original.

"I heard that Peter was lost all last week. But I saw him today at school."
"They would have made a search and found him" - They made a search.
The Chinese translation is mostly correct in this sense. I don't know where they get their certainty from though.

"They would have ..." means "I suspect they did", as well as a few other things depending on the grammatical context.

Thank you so much for your help, Raymott. Then we can also say 'I'm quite certain they will have made a search and found him'. Does 'will' indicate more certainty than 'would' in this context?

 

[Matthew Wai]

I think the past tense will be changed to the future tense if 'would' is changed to 'will'.

Not a teacher.

 

[Raymott]

Then we can also say 'I'm quite certain they will have made a search and found him'. Does 'will' indicate more certainty than 'would' in this context?

I think you're asking whether 'will' or 'would' is the most certain in the following:
"They would have made a search", "They will have made a search."
Other things being equal, the one with 'will' implies more certainty to me.

Putting "I'm quite certain" in both sentences doesn't help distinguish them, but the one with 'will' still sounds more certain, but perhaps the difference isn't as great. If the speaker is quite certain they did a search, he should say that.

 

[Matthew Wai]

"In a few days, I'm quite certain they will have made a search and found him."
Does 'will' refer to the future here?

 

[bhaisahab]

"In a few days, I'm quite certain they will have made a search and found him."
Does 'will' refer to the future here?

Yes, if it happens, the searching/finding will take place during the next few days.

 

[joham]

Then according to Raymott, we can also say 'In a few days, I'm certain they would have made a search and found him'?

 

[Raymott]

Then according to Raymott, we can also say 'In a few days, I'm certain they would have made a search and found him'?

I thought I suggested leaving the certainty out. I'd never say that. You can be reasonably confident that they would do a search, but to say you are certain that they will find him is the sort of wishful thinking only a mother would say.

 

[Matthew Wai]

'They will/would probably' may sound more confident.

Not a teacher.