What’s the difference? (inside)

rrrimbaud

Posted: 04 November 2004 08:04 PM

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What’s the exact difference between: "I was to go" & "I was to have gone"?

Does "I was to have gone" imply that something has happened even further into the past (is it a sort of emphasis)?

help appreciated big time

best,
greg

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Tim

Posted: 05 November 2004 12:37 AM

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The distinction, as I see it:

I was to go…
This implies/states that the decision has been made in the past, but the action (to go) is a present or future event.

I was to have gone…
This implies/states that not only was the decision made in the past, but the event has already occurred, and the opportunity has been missed.

-Tim

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For myself, I find I become less cynical rather than more… and realize that men’s hearts are not often as bad as their acts, and very seldom as bad as their words. - JRR Tolkien

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Tim

Posted: 12 December 2005 04:33 AM

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I disagree.

I was to go does not imply necessarily that the opportunity has already been missed. It does, however, indicate that an event has transpired that eliminates the option.

I was to go to the opera after work, but I just discovered I have a flat tire…

And, personally, it sounds wrong to me without the implied supposed.

-Tim

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For myself, I find I become less cynical rather than more… and realize that men’s hearts are not often as bad as their acts, and very seldom as bad as their words. - JRR Tolkien

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Sitran

Posted: 12 December 2005 07:14 AM

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I agree with Tim (this time)!

Sitran

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