would have p.p.

[sejpdw]

"The jobs most companies are doing with information today would have been impossible several years ago."


What's the function of "would have been " in the following sentence?

1) Instead of "would", is it possible to use could/might/may? If so, they have the same meaning as "would"?

or

2) Is it OK to rephrase the sentence like this : If companies had tried to do those jobs, it would have been impossible.

[Bridget]

"The jobs most companies are doing with information today would have been impossible several years ago."


What's the function of "would have been " in the following sentence?

1) Instead of "would", is it possible to use could/might/may? If so, they have the same meaning as "would"?

or

2) Is it OK to rephrase the sentence like this : If companies had tried to do those jobs, it would have been impossible.

"Would have been" states a fact (in the mind of the speaker). The other modals would not be definite enough.

The conditional sentence is OK.