[Ads-l] "would have"

[Dan Goncharoff]

Americans might not write it, but they say it (as "would've) all the time.

On Sun, Jan 31, 2021, 2:02 PM Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Used to indicate a past event known to have occurred:
>
> "Humans and chimps actually both evolved from a common ancestor (CHLCA)
> that lived around 8 million years ago. Eventually, the genetic lineage
> would have split two ways, giving rise to the precursors of hominids and
> modern apes."
>
> Brits especially use this construction to indicate something that almost
> certainly happened, but some doubt remains (virtually the same as  "must
> have").
>
> But the above usage seems not to imply that.
>
> JL
>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org