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why would I come back here

 
 
WBYeats
 
Reply Mon 30 Sep, 2013 05:38 am
At a murder scene, a man standing beside the corpse is being interrogated by an inspector:

Inspector: You made up the whole story about going to the roof.
Man: I was on the roof when Mrs Monroe found her husband dead and screamed. He was alive when I left him. Besides, why would I come/would I have come back here?
Inspector: Because it's a perfect move to make you appear innocent, to make us think you have nothing to hide. But the question still stands: can you prove you were on the roof?

==================================
1. Which one should I use? WOULD I COME or WOULD I HAVE COME?

2. What's the difference in meaning?

Thank you. WB.
 
View best answer, chosen by WBYeats
McTag
  Selected Answer
 
  3  
Reply Mon 30 Sep, 2013 06:53 am
@WBYeats,
In the context of a dialogue like this, both mean the same and both are (probably) equally likely.

Adding "have" is correct, as it refers to a single act in the past, but many would miss it out in informal speech.
JTT
 
  1  
Reply Mon 30 Sep, 2013 05:23 pm
@WBYeats,
1. Which one should I use? WOULD I COME or WOULD I HAVE COME?

2. What's the difference in meaning?

Besides, why would I come back here?

Why would a person [like me] in a situation like this, come back here.

Besides, why would I have come back here?

The focus shifts to "I" and this particular event.

Q: Why would I bother to reply to this posting?

[notice the focus]

A: For the same reason many people do, an interest in language, a desire to help others, mental stimulation, ... .

Q: Why would I have bothered to reply to this posting?

A: Because I have enjoyed helping WB sort out certain issues with respect to modal verbs.

The focus on the 2nd reply was more pointed at the situation but that doesn't mean that every reply has to be that personally focused. 'would' asks/encourages us to speculate, to wonder about possibilities, whereas a "Why did you bother to reply to this posting?" is more direct, more focused, more concerned with facts.

0 Replies
 
JTT
 
  1  
Reply Mon 30 Sep, 2013 07:44 pm
@McTag,
Quote:
Adding "have" is correct, as it refers to a single act in the past, but many would miss it out in informal speech.


Great advice, McTag, but I don't believe that this is accurate.
WBYeats
 
  1  
Reply Mon 30 Sep, 2013 08:45 pm
Thank you, JTT an Mctag~
0 Replies
 
McTag
 
  1  
Reply Tue 1 Oct, 2013 01:12 am
@JTT,

"Why would I come back here?" now, or in the future, or anytime.

"Why would I have come back here?"- In the past, once or even multiple times (unlikely to be multiple times; for that, you would probably write something like "why would I have kept coming back here?"
JTT
 
  1  
Reply Tue 1 Oct, 2013 11:22 am
@McTag,
Quote:
Adding "have" is correct, as it refers to a single act in the past, but many would miss it out in informal speech.


Quote:
"Why would I come back here?" now, or in the future, or anytime.


I guess this is as close as you can bring yourself towards honesty.
0 Replies
 
 

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