4

Mr. Trump called the leaking of information disgraceful comparing it to something that Nazi Germany would have done.

Could I change the above sentence to Nazi Germany would do dropping have?

Will it change the meaning?

Jasper
  • 24,268
  • 4
  • 54
  • 86
  • Sure. It implies that Nazi Germany exists now. – deadrat Feb 05 '17 at 10:06
  • 4
    "...would be something that Nazi Germany would do", implies that Nazi Germany still exists. ...would have done reflects a past action. – WS2 Feb 05 '17 at 11:12
  • 1
    You can get away with a general comment like they would do since the suggestion does live in theory. If that regime were around (hypothetically), that is something they would do. They cannot do it, but they would do it. – Yosef Baskin Feb 23 '17 at 22:23

1 Answers1

2

If you say "[some historical entity] would do" it either implies that entity still exists, or the hypothetical if the entity still existed. So it's grammatical, but it has a more complex nuance that the past perfect. Example:

That's just the sort of thing my late grandmother would have said.

That's just the sort of thing my late grandmother would say (if she was still alive today).

Andrew
  • 88,266
  • 6
  • 98
  • 187