Would could should have been

[artistnatural]

Hello,

I am having difficulty saying the following in Spanish

1> I would have been travelling
2> I could have been travelling
3> I should have been travelling

Can some one translate the above three and include some explanation ?

Thank you

[wrholt]

The common component of all three English verb forms is "<modal> have been travelling". The part after the modal verb is the (bare) infinitive form of the perfect progressive. The translation equivalent for this form is directly parallel to the English equivalent: "haber estado viajando".

However, the English modal verbs "would" "could" and "should" do not have parallel translation equivalents in Spanish.

The word "would" can convey more than one possible meaning including past habitual action (typically associated with the Spanish imperfect tense) and a hypothetical but unrealized event in the past (typically associated with the Spanish conditional tense). In other words, these these meanings have different translation equivalents in Spanish. However, the form "would have been X-ing" typically corresponds to the conditional perfect progressive verb form in Spanish. The typical translation equivalent is "(yo) habria estado viajando".

The word "could" also can convey more than one possible meaning, but it most often conveys one of (a) having the capacity to do something, (b) having the permission or authority to do something, or (c) the possibility of something happening or existing. In Spanish these ideas are often conveyed by using the verb "poder". The form "could have been X-ing" can convey either of two (or three) meanings depending on context, and each of these meanings has a different translation equivalent in Spanish. The most likely translations of "I could have been travelling" are "podía haber estado viajando" (something that was true in the past) and "podría haber estado viajando" (something that was hypothetical in the past).

The word "should" typically adds either a sense of obligation or a sense of probability or uncertainty to the verb form that contains it. Spanish has a number of ways to convey these ideas, including various uses of the verb "deber". Possible translations of "I should have been travelling" include "debía haber estado viajando" and "debía de haber estado viajando".

[artistnatural]

Thank you for such a complete explanation of 'would could or should'

I will copy your explanation and spend time digesting it piece by piece. I can see myself using these 3 phrases.

Again thank you.

Will

[artistnatural]

to Wrholt and all

By the way,

Is it true that the term preterit and the term perfect
both imply completed action ?

Will

[wrholt]

Originally Posted by artistnatural

to Wrholt and all

By the way,

Is it true that the term preterit and the term perfect
both imply completed action ?

Will

Yes. And in Spanish there is some overlap in usage and and meaning between the preterit and the present perfect, with some regional variation as well.

However, the two forms are not always interchangeable. The present perfect frequently suggests that the completed action remains relevant at the present time, while the preterit typically does not suggest that fact. This difference in usage is also true for English present perfect and English past.

The critical item to notice is that the English modal verbs can, could, will, would, shall, should, may, might, must, and other auxiliary verbs or modal-like verbs such as have, have to, ought to, dare, need and do do not have a parallel set of translation equivalents into Spanish. We who speak English as a first language must learn translation equivalents for them on a case-by-case basis.