he would ever have guessed

[Maybo]

What he discovered at the lunch was that these students had a far greater desire to do something with their lives than he would ever have guessed. (Creative Schools : Revolutionizing Education from the Ground Up by Ken Robinson)

I'm trying to understand how to use the tense "would have guessed". If the above sentence is written in the present tense, will the tense of "he would ever have guessed" remain as it is, or will that part be changed to "will ever have guessed".

 

[Tarheel]

Well, it's not a tense; it's a phrase.

Another way you might phrase that is that their desire to do something with their lives was greater than expected or that he was surprised to learn that.

 

[Barque]

If the above sentence is written in the present tense, will the tense of "he would ever have guessed" remain as it is,

It'd help if you actually rewrote the sentence in the present tense, so we know what you're thinking of but I'd say it'd remain as it is.

 

[Maybo]

Original: What he discovered at the lunch was that these students had a far greater desire to do something with their lives than he would ever have guessed.

Using the present tense:
1. What he discovers at the lunch is that these students have a far greater desire to do something with their lives than he will ever have guessed.
2. What he discovers at the lunch is that these students have a far greater desire to do something with their lives than he would ever have guessed.

Which one is correct?

 

[Barque]

Number 1 doesn't sound correct. Number 2 seems all right.

If I had to say it, I think I'd use "could" in number 2.

 

[Tarheel]

Only the second one is possible. Also, "would have guessed" means nothing by itself. You have to look at the whole phrase.

You could say that he had no idea they had such definite plans.

 

[SoothingDave]

It's a conditional, a hypothetical. "If he had been asked, then he would have guessed..."

You don't conjugate that. It's always what he "would have" done.