Marie
"If you had applied, I'm sure you would have got the job." What is the verb tense of " would have got" in this sentence?
Aug 28, 2023 1:05 PM
Answers · 2
1
"Would" is a modal verb that doesn't really have a tense. "Have got" is the perfect infinitive of "get" in British English. In American English, it would be "have gotten."
August 28, 2023
That's a good question. The answer depends upon whom you ask. Note that "would" behaves the same as "will" so if you know how to speak about the future using "will" then you know everything there is to know about "would". In my opinion, the verb is in the simple present tense: "you would". Modal verbs are followed by an infinitive, in this case "have". The following are grammatically identical: "he would have" "he would sing" "he will sing" Infinitives are special. Although they do not behave as active verbs, they still can have objects. For example: "he will sing a song" "he would sing a song" "he would have a meal of spaghetti". The verb "to have" is also special in that it can take a past participle as its "object": "he would have cried" "he will have sung" "he will have gotten" ("got" and "gotten" are interchangeable as p.p. of "to get") "he would have gotten" Participles can have objects of their own, thus we finally have: "he would have gotten the job" "he will have sung the song" "he would have sung the song"
August 28, 2023
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