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Would do that or would have done it?

English Language & Usage Asked by IamNotShepard on December 17, 2020

Is there a situation in which following sentence is correct?

“You could have mentioned you would do that”

If so, then in which context is it right? I mean, if the sentence is started by “could have” then the next part should contain “have” after “would” in this case? Is this a rule or does it all depend on the situation in which you’re using it? And if so, please present me the right context.

2 Answers

Yes, it's allowed. We're looking back, to look forwards again.

Consider a situation where one housemate leaves some drugs lying around. The second housemate finds them and flushes them down the toilet.

Housemate A: Err did you see that little bag I left by the phone?

B: What, the drugs? Yes, I flushed them down the loo.

A: WHAT??! Why?

B: I don't want any drugs in my house. My sister's kids come round here all the time. So, if I see any drugs I will just flush them.
A: You could have mentioned you would do that.

B: The subject never came up before.

Answered by Max Williams on December 17, 2020

The tenses already match in my opinion.
One of the meanings for 'would' is:

used as the past form of will when reporting what somebody has said or thought He said he would be here at eight o'clock (= His words were: ‘I will be there at eight o'clock.’).
She asked if I would help. They told me that they probably wouldn't come. Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary 9th edition © Oxford University Press, 2015

Answered by Ross Murray on December 17, 2020

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