Would have been doing.

[peterking]

Hi, guys. I was wondering if you guys could help a friend of mine figure out a question apropos of usage of would have been doing. He told me that he had found some related phrases online , asking me to explain it for him. Seeing it, I was also floored, in light of the fact that English is not my native language. So I'd be grateful if you guys could help us suss it out. Thanks.

The first one is" if Steve was here, I still do things I would have been doing."
The second one is "if you told me a few hours ago , I would have been doing this.
The last one is" if he had returned to LA, I would have been doing it."

 

[jutfrank]

So what's the question?

Please make sure you tell us where you saw or heard any sentence you ask about, along with any context that will help clarify the meaning.

 

[peterking]

So what's the question?

Please make sure you tell us where you saw or heard any sentence you ask about, along with any context that will help clarify the meaning.

A friend of mine would like to find out how to use would have been doing form correctly. He said he's utterly clueless . Sorry, I don't know the original source of the above-mentioned phrases. He may have found on a Chinese website targeting English learners.

My question is would it be okay to use would have been doing form in the phrases "if you told me a few hours ago , I would have been doing this" and"if he had returned to LA, I would have been doing it？

 

[Tarheel]

The phrase "would have been doing" can certainly be used in the proper context. Perhaps: "If you had told me a few hours ago, I would have been doing ...."

 

[jutfrank]

If you had told me a few hours ago, I would have been doing this.

This is an unreal past conditional sentence. It's grammatically correct, but it doesn't make much sense out of context, so your friend should disregard it.

If he had returned to L.A., I would have been doing it.

This is also grammatical but a similarly poor example of meaning, since it's out of context.

I think that your friend will benefit from studying 3rd conditional sentences, which is what I suspect he really wants to know more about.

 

[peterking]

The phrase "would have been doing" can certainly be used in the proper context. Perhaps: "If you had told me a few hours ago I would have been doing ...."

Thanks.

 

[probus]

There is no need to clutter the forum with posts saying thanks. Please use the Thank button if you wish to express gratitude in future.

 

[jutfrank]

I'm not sure why you removed the essential comma from Tarheel's post when you quoted him in post #6 but it has made me realise that it's quite possible that the original 'sentence' in question was meant only as a single subordinate clause:

If I'd told you a few hours ago I would've been doing this, ...

Is that right?

 

[Tarheel]

@jutfrank I did that. I edited the post after it was quoted. Sorry.

 

[probus]

Quilted?

 

[Kontol]

Would Have Been Doing - English Grammar - English - The Free Dictionary Language Forums

 

[peterking]

I'm not sure why you removed the essential comma from Tarheel's post when you quoted him in post #6 but it has made me realise that it's quite possible that the original 'sentence' in question was meant only as a single subordinate clause:

If I'd told you a few hours ago I would've been doing this, ...

Is that right?

I ran a check after he gave me a link. It turns out to be such phrases can be found on a website called ludwig.guru, which seems to be a place where English learners learn how to use English usage from the articles published by Guardian and the New York Times. And my friend also made a typo yesterday. It should have been"if you told me just a few hours ago I would have been doing this, I would not have believed you." Plus, my friend said another website also has this sentence: "I would have been doing this two weeks ago."

He showed me another head-scratching one just now, which is"If the steamer should have left port at noon, it will be passing through the canal now." This one can be found in a grammar book published in China, according to my friend.

I'd hate to say this. This one strikes me as quaint; it's beyond my ken.

 

[emsr2d2]

If the steamer should have left port at noon, it will be passing through the canal now."

There are two possibilities for the underlined part:
1) Someone has already said "The steamer should have left port at noon" and the speaker of the sentence above is saying "If that's the case, it'll now be passing through the canal".
2) It's an old-fashioned way of saying simply "If the steamer left port at noon".

 

[Tarheel]

Quilted?

It's a new thing which will take some explaining. ( Fixed.)

 

[jutfrank]

What's your question, peterking?

 

[Tarheel]

I don't think those are sentences from real conversations, which is why they seem so unnatural. I might want to know when that steamer is going to reach its destination, but I would ask that question directly.

Questions like "If it had left X at noon where would it be now?" seem like made up questions.

 

[peterking]

What's your question, peterking?

My question is: mind telling me what's your take on this sentence "I would have been doing this two weeks ago." I think it's wide of the mark. Yet my friend said this sentence can be found online. I tried to talk him into believing that not all the research results can be trusted. To my dismay, he's not convinced.

 

[peterking]

I don't think those are sentences from real conversations, which is why they seem so unnatural. I might want to know when that steamer is going to reach its destination, but I would ask that question directly.

Questions like "If it had left X at noon where would it be now?" seem like made up questions.

You may have a point. This sentence" If the steamer should have left port at noon, it will be passing through the canal now," may have been written by a Chinese educator who made his mark by cleaving to the old grammar rules exalted by Western traditionalists in the 80s in China. He must have learned lots of such expressions from classical novels.

 

[emsr2d2]

My question is no colon here "Do you mind telling me what's what your take on this sentence is?"

"I would have been doing this two weeks ago."

I think it's wide of the mark no full stop here yet my friend said this sentence can be found online. I tried to talk him into believing that not all the research search results can be trusted. To my dismay, he's not convinced.

You may might have a point. This The sentence space here "If the steamer should have left port at noon, it will be passing through the canal now," may might have been written by a Chinese educator who made his mark by cleaving to the old grammar rules exalted by Western traditionalists in the 80s in China. He must have learned lots of such expressions from classical novels.

 

[jutfrank]

My question is: mind telling me what's your take on this sentence "I would have been doing this two weeks ago." I think it's wide of the mark. Yet my friend said this sentence can be found online. I tried to talk him into believing that not all the research results can be trusted. To my dismay, he's not convinced.

This sentence is perfectly natural and grammatical. What's your problem with it exactly?