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Is this dialogue idiomatic:

  • I played football at school.
  • You [will be/will have been] quite athletic when you met Alice then.

Can you think of other examples?

Quirkier
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  • It's basically the same as this, this, this, etc. Search for will and would. – Stuart F Nov 03 '23 at 19:32
  • @StuartF What about "John entered college. He studies hard for a few years. He will not, however, get a job at the bank as he hopes to. After the graduation, John made a career in politics". – Quirkier Nov 03 '23 at 19:43
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    That sounds wrong. You can't keep changing tenses in a narrative. – Barmar Nov 03 '23 at 20:18
  • you can use the narrative present: "John enters college. He studies hard for a few years. He does not get a job at the bank. Instead, after graduation he makes a career in politics." – Barmar Nov 03 '23 at 20:19
  • In the example in the question, "would have been" is the proper tense. – Barmar Nov 03 '23 at 20:21
  • "You will have been quite athletic" = "I suppose you were quite athletic". In your 'John' example, there is no supposition, just a statement of what happened. – Kate Bunting Nov 03 '23 at 22:16

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