How to use the Phrase 'Would Have Been' in Fluent English [Advanced English Conversation]

We often receive questions from English learners all over the world! While we cannot always answer every single one in detail, we really appreciate hearing from you and some of your inquiries make for great lesson ideas. In this video, Vanessa will explain would have been in English grammar. This was an excellent question from one of our online learners!

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First of all, let’s take a moment to talk about pronunciation. Would + have is often shortened into “woulda” when speaking but not in writing.

For example, you might say something like, “I would have been there for your birthday party but I was sick in bed with the flu.”

This shows that you intended to be there but something came up that prevented you from going.

Things would have been different if another situation or condition had been met. In the above example, if I had not been sick.

You can also use “would have been better” to give advice.