[Grammar] I was afraid our prof would have to cancel it.

[nininaz]

Hello All,

Is there any reason why 'would have to' was used in the bold context?of which grammar rules it follows?

M: Did you hear the weather report, Jenny? It looks like the weather
will clear up by Friday.
W: Awesome! That means we can take our class trip to the mountains
after all. I was afraid our prof would have to cancel it.
M: I am really looking forward to the hike.

Thanks.

 

[bhaisahab]

It's perfectly natural. What would you use instead?

 

[nininaz]

Hello,
Thanks for your reply, But It could be something like ' I was afraid our prof had to cancel it' .. why used 'will + have to '?Thanks

 

[MikeNewYork]

"Would have to cancel it" is looking forward to a potential future action. It did not happen.

 

[nininaz]

Thanks so much. You meant prof wanted to cancel the class and the student wanted to have the class trip?

the following meaning for will+have to is correct?
A
1 if you have to do something, you must do it because it is necessary or because someone makes you do it:
If you earn more than £5000, you will have to pay tax.

2 used to say that it is important that something happens, or that something must happen if something else is to happen:
There will have to be a complete ceasefire before the Government will agree to talks.
Source :http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/have_3


B
We use would as the past tense of will:to talk about what people wanted to do or were willing to do:
We had a terrible night. The baby wouldn’t go to sleep. He kept waking up and crying.
Dad wouldn’t lend me the car, so we had to take the train.

Source:http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar/verbs/modal-verbs/will-or-would

A is correct or B?
I think the prof was willing to cancel the class trip to mountain so that made the student sad .

 

[MikeNewYork]

The professor would have canceled the trip only if the weather was bad. The student was happy that he didn't cancel it.

 

[nininaz]

In that case why student was afraid even if the prof didn't cancel the trip class.
But it is ' Would have to cancel it' not 'would have canceled'
so according to what you said , It must be 'Would have had to cancel it '
I think, there is a lot of differences between them.

 

[SoothingDave]

The student was afraid of the trip being cancelled before the weather cleared up.

"Would have had to cancel it" is an alternative. So is "would have had to have cancelled it."

 

[nininaz]

The student was afraid of the trip being cancelled before the weather cleared up.

"Would have had to cancel it" is an alternative. So is "would have had to have cancelled it."

Really thanks. so helpful answer.
But in this context we have : would have to cancel it.
So You meant"woud have to cancel it "is equal to "Would have had to cancel it" " and
"would have had to have cancelled it." ?

 

[SoothingDave]

But in this context we have : would have to cancel it.
what does it mean ?

If the weather had stayed bad, then the event would be cancelled. He would have to cancel it (in the future, if the weather stayed bad).

 

[nininaz]

Sorry, I am not certainly stupid. But this makes me confued
So You meant"woud have to cancel it "is equal to "Would have had to cancel it" " and
"would have had to have cancelled it." ?

 

[SoothingDave]

Sorry, I am not certainly stupid. But this makes me confued
So You meant"woud have to cancel it "is equal to "Would have had to cancel it" " and
"would have had to have cancelled it." ?

The general idea is the same, no matter how it is phrased.