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What is the subtle difference?
You might have thought he was my boyfriend.
You might have thought he had been my boyfriend.
You might have thought he had been my boyfriend.
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First of all, you are talking about something that happened in the past -- "might have thought" as opposed to "might think". The difference lies in what "he" did at that time which could have given the wrong impression. If he did or said something especially nice, something that one would not normally do for a casual acquaintance, someone seeing that "might have thought that he was your boyfriend" (at that moment).
On the other hand, if he said or did something that just seemed to imply that a special relationship existed between you in the past, then someone seeing that "might have thought that he had been your boyfriend" (but not anymore).
The key difference between the phrases is what "he" did that caused others to think something. Did he seem like he was your boyfriend at that moment, or at sometime in the past?
On the other hand, if he said or did something that just seemed to imply that a special relationship existed between you in the past, then someone seeing that "might have thought that he had been your boyfriend" (but not anymore).
The key difference between the phrases is what "he" did that caused others to think something. Did he seem like he was your boyfriend at that moment, or at sometime in the past?
You might have thought he was my boyfriend...present
You might have thought he had been my boyfriend...past
The difference isn't even subtle.
You might have thought he had been my boyfriend...past
The difference isn't even subtle.
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