Learn English – What does ‘would have [past participle]’ mean in these sentences

auxiliary-verbs

For me, it's hard to figure out what 'would have [past participle]' means in these sentences because the meaning seems to vary in different sentences even though the forms are the same. Would it make sense if I change 'would' to 'might' or 'could'?

a) I would have thought there was nothing in that to disturb me. But I
felt uneasy, and I wasn't sure why at first.

b) I'm pretty sure I caught my cold from Jason who would have picked
it up at school.

c) She is a very famous comedian. You would probably have seen her in
a lot of movies these days.

Best Answer

This site has a pretty good explanation:

We use would have as the past tense form of will have:

  • I phoned at six o’clock. I knew he would have got home by then.
  • It was half past five. Dad would have finished work.

We use would have in past conditionals to talk about something that did not happen:

  • If it had been a little warmer we would have gone for a swim.
  • He would have been very angry if he had seen you.
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