Hi pleasehelp In your sentence, "have been" is what is known as a perfect infinitive . There are some other threads here that discuss perfect infinitives. Here are a few of them:

ability and skill (which are human/animal characteristics) My Am. Htg. seems to share your view on "ability," but in this age of "artificial intelligence," new abilities seem to be cropping up. And wouldn't it be okay to

with regards to snow falling and Mister Micawber's response. You wrote 2 is more likely than 3 but how ability and skill (which are human/animal characteristics) refer to snow?? Sunday roast. Look at the context. It is quite clear

Please tell me if I have done it correctly? I have to answer the following questions: 1. (i) What is the difference in meaning between the following sentences? (ii) Identify the grammatical structure underlined in each sentence

I still have trouble with this kind of construction s , You cannot have would had . Impossible. The only form of have which can directly follow a modal verb is have , never has, had, or having . These are the correct combinations: can have,

We should have been there by now! Is this sentence is 'Present Perfect' form? No. I would call it a modal perfect. Some books call it a modal verb followed by a bare perfect infinitive. He used to have crocked teeth. ( crooked ) This

We should have been there by now! Is this sentence is 'Present Perfect' form? I was just wondering, because there is the modal verb 'should' before the 'have been' which is present perfect . He used to have crocked

Bow? That's rather extravagant, don't you think? Next thing you know it'll be "bow and scrape"! CJ

I bow to MrM and Jim on the last example.

A past ability or skill A present ability or skill Speculation or deduction A future possibility Asking permission A prohibition A request Offer A refusal Can I eat my lunch here? 5 Can you cook a Sunday Roast?