I would've had to be in the town even if you had not been here

[MeyaN]

Context: I visited a friend living in a nearby town without prior intimation. He asked me that how could I be so sure he would be home.
I said "I would've had to be in the town even if you had not been here" (as I had another important work).

But the sentence seems cumbersome to use colloquially.
I found people using sentences like "I would've had to be in the town even if you were not here". Can I use this for colloquial purposes, though it is grammatically wrong.

Please suggest a better alternative.

 

[emsr2d2]

Re: I would've to be in the town even if you had not been here

I have never seen or heard "I would have had to be in town ..." shortened to "I would've to be in town". It's not a correct contraction of "I would have had" which would be the correct grammatical version of the original sentence.

I would have had to be in town even if you had not been there. (Without contractions)
I would've had to be in town even if you hadn't been there. (With contractions)

 

[MeyaN]

Re: I would've to be in the town even if you had not been here

Thank you for the correction.

And, could you also please suggest an alternative to that, as it is cumbersome to say it. How would you say it if such a situation arises in your real life. Examples would be very helpful.

 

[Raymott]

Re: I would've to be in the town even if you had not been here

"I had to come to town anyway."
"I would have had to come to town whether you were here or not."
And yes, "I would've had to be in the town even if you were not here" is acceptable. But, "I had to be in town ..." is less complicated, and still correct.

 

[MeyaN]

Re: I would've to be in the town even if you had not been here

But "I would've had to be in the town even if you were not here" and "I would have had to come to town whether you were here or not" are grammatically incorrect as "would have had to be" is third conditional and "if you were.." is second conditional. Isn't it?

Please explain and examples, if added, would certainly be beneficial.

 

[Matthew Wai]

Re: I would've to be in the town even if you had not been here

"I would've had to be in the town even if you were not here"

I consider it a mixed conditional, which is grammatically correct.

"I would have had to come to town whether you were here or not"

I don't consider it a conditional because a whether-clause is not a conditional clause.

 

[Matthew Wai]

Re: I would've to be in the town even if you had not been here

Please explain and examples, if added, would certainly be beneficial.

The following are examples of the mixed conditional.
https://www.usingenglish.com/forum/...have-said-so?p=1255676&viewfull=1#post1255676
https://www.usingenglish.com/articles/conditional-sentences-in-english-5.html Scroll down to 'Mixed conditionals'.

 

[MeyaN]

Re: I would've to be in the town even if you had not been here

"I would've had to be in the town even if you were not here"

The time in the if clause is same as that of the result. So, I think it's not a mixed conditional. Therefore, please tell me isn't it wrong to use the sentence in the above way?
​
Thank you.

 

[emsr2d2]

Re: I would've to be in the town even if you had not been here

"I would've had to be in [STRIKE]the[/STRIKE] town even if you were not here"

The time in the "if" clause is the same as that of the result so (no comma here) I think it's not a mixed conditional. Therefore, please tell me if it isn't it wrong to use the sentence in the above way. (If you start with "Please tell me", it's not a question.)
​
Thank you.

See above.

 

[MeyaN]

Re: I would've to be in the town even if you had not been here

Thank you so much for correcting me. Many a time I am not sure with 'the' usage. Here too it felt natural not to use 'the' before same. But in hindsight it felt correct. Does it feel a very conspicuous error to native speakers?

And, I still don't get why using "the" before town is wrong, given it's referring to a particular town.

Could you also please tell me why shouldn't there be a comma after so? I've seen writings in which it is used so.

Also, please correct the above sentence[what should I use instead of "why" in the above sentence to make it correct?]

 

[Matthew Wai]

Re: I would've to be in the town even if you had not been here

I would write 'Could you please also tell me why there should not be a comma after 'so'?'.
I think 'so' is a conjunction there, so a comma is not needed after it.

 

[Rover_KE]

Re: I would've to be in the town even if you had not been here

I agree with Matthew. You could put an optional comma after 'result' (as Matthew did after 'there').

***

I still don't get why using "the" before town is wrong, given it's referring to a particular town

.
In town and out of town are fixed expressions meaning 'in or out of the place where something/somebody is to be found. It doesn't matter whether it's a town, city or village.

 

[MeyaN]

Re: I would've to be in the town even if you had not been here

The time in the "if" clause is the same as that of the result so I think it's not a mixed conditional;both are referring to past. Therefore, please tell me if it isn't wrong to use this way: "I would've had to be in town even if you were not there."

 

[Matthew Wai]

Re: I would've to be in the town even if you had not been here

The if-clause and the main clause refer to the present and the past respectively, so I consider it a mixed conditional.

 

[MeyaN]

Re: I would've to be in the town even if you had not been here

If clause - "If you had not been here" was referring to the past like the main clause, not present. Please answer. This thread is forgotten.

 

[Matthew Wai]

Re: I would've to be in the town even if you had not been here

If clause - "If you had not been here" was referring to the past like the main clause, not present.

Yes, 'had not been' refers to the past.

"I would've had to be in town even if you were not there."

'Were' refers to the present rather than the past because it is the past subjunctive.

 

[MeyaN]

Re: I would've to be in the town even if you had not been here

In post#4, 'And yes, "I would've had to be in the town even if you were not here" is acceptable. But, "I had to be in town ..." is less complicated, and still correct.' was used. Here, after "but" is it optional to use comma, as in several books I read, when I felt there should be a comma after "but", as I wanted a pause after it, it was not used. This made me believe that a comma after "but" is not frequently used? Please explain to me [please rephrase this question if you think it is verbose]