<p>'could have been' basically means “本来可以” while 'would have been' means “本来会”. For example</p>
<blockquote>
<p>He <strong>could have been</strong> there but there was an accident.</p>
<p>他<strong>本(来)可以</strong>到那里的，但是出了点意外。</p>
<p>He <strong>would have been</strong> a doctor if he wasn't hurt.</p>
<p>如果他没受伤，他<strong>本会</strong>成为一名医生。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Generally, hypotheses in Chinese include the character “<strong>本</strong>”, like “本来”, “本会”,“本能够”,“本应该”,“本可以”,“本可能”.</p>
<p>Well, there are several mistakes in Kevman's translation.</p>
<ol>
<li>“妻子”</li>
</ol>
<blockquote>
<p>All his wife wanted was a peaceful life.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This should be</p>
<blockquote>
<p>他的妻子只想要平静的生活。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>'All his <strong>wife</strong> wanted' means “他的<strong>妻子</strong>只想要” rather than “他的<strong>妻子们</strong>”</p>
<ol start="2">
<li>“他们”</li>
</ol>
<blockquote>
<p>their lives could have been peaceful</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This should be</p>
<blockquote>
<p>他们本可以平静地生活着</p>
</blockquote>
<p>'their' means “他们的”, because it refers to the man and his wife.</p>
<p>When it refers to people including <strong>male</strong> and <strong>female</strong>, it should be translated into “他们的”. Work the same for 'they', 'them' and 'themselves'.</p>
<p>The rest is just as Kevman said.</p>
<p>---------------divide-----------</p>
<p>For Kevman's translation is not shown, I will type the whole translation below.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>All his wife wanted was a peaceful life. When he returned from the war, their lives <strong>could have been</strong> peaceful, but the government situation at that time prevented it.</p>
<p>他的妻子只希望过平静的生活。(但)在他从战场归来后，繁忙的政府公务没让他们过上<strong>本(来)该有</strong>的平静生活。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This translation is more natural but not formally same. That's why you see “本该有” rather than “本可以”。</p>
<p>One more thing, just as Jesse said, there is a precondition that if everything was like before.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-20T07:22:24.123Z
You are right. I am confused at first and I forget the plural of wife is wives. :)
Kevman
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-20T13:18:56.383Z
Kevman's translation is not shown at the moment, so this answer is a bit incomplete.
goPlayerJuggler
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-20T15:23:22.657Z
I'v updated the answer. Thank you for notifying me.
Leisure
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-20T05:43:56.460Z
2017-04-20T16:18:02.640Z
2020-06-17T09:50:11.587Z
Leisure
<p>For example, how do you translate this: "All his wife wanted was a peaceful life. When he returned from the war, their lives could have been peaceful, but the government situation at that time prevented it." </p>

<p>I have no idea how to say these kinds of "could have/would have" hypotheticals in Chinese. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-20T06:51:07.367Z
There is a precondition that **if everything was like before**. If this precondition is satisfied, then they can live peacefully. But this precondition is broken because " the government situation at that time prevented it".
Jesse
<translation><grammar><word-choice><vocabulary><sentence-structure>
How do you translate "could have been" sentences?
# How do you translate "could have been" sentences?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-04-20)

For example, how do you translate this: "All his wife wanted was a peaceful life. When he returned from the war, their lives could have been peaceful, but the government situation at that time prevented it."

I have no idea how to say these kinds of "could have/would have" hypotheticals in Chinese.

**Tags:** translation, grammar, word-choice, vocabulary, sentence-structure
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: There is a precondition that **if everything was like before**. If this precondition is satisfied, then they can live peacefully. But this precondition is broken because " the government situation at that time prevented it".  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2017-04-20. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

'could have been' basically means “本来可以” while 'would have been' means “本来会”. For example

> He **could have been** there but there was an accident.
>
> 他**本(来)可以**到那里的，但是出了点意外。
>
> He **would have been** a doctor if he wasn't hurt.
>
> 如果他没受伤，他**本会**成为一名医生。

Generally, hypotheses in Chinese include the character “**本**”, like “本来”, “本会”,“本能够”,“本应该”,“本可以”,“本可能”.

Well, there are several mistakes in Kevman's translation.

1. “妻子”

> All his wife wanted was a peaceful life.

This should be

> 他的妻子只想要平静的生活。

'All his **wife** wanted' means “他的**妻子**只想要” rather than “他的**妻子们**”

2. “他们”

> their lives could have been peaceful

This should be

> 他们本可以平静地生活着

'their' means “他们的”, because it refers to the man and his wife.

When it refers to people including **male** and **female**, it should be translated into “他们的”. Work the same for 'they', 'them' and 'themselves'.

The rest is just as Kevman said.

---------------divide-----------

For Kevman's translation is not shown, I will type the whole translation below.

> All his wife wanted was a peaceful life. When he returned from the war, their lives **could have been** peaceful, but the government situation at that time prevented it.
>
> 他的妻子只希望过平静的生活。(但)在他从战场归来后，繁忙的政府公务没让他们过上**本(来)该有**的平静生活。

This translation is more natural but not formally same. That's why you see “本该有” rather than “本可以”。

One more thing, just as Jesse said, there is a precondition that if everything was like before.

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: You are right. I am confused at first and I forget the plural of wife is wives. :)  
> **username_4**: Kevman's translation is not shown at the moment, so this answer is a bit incomplete.  
> **username_2**: I'v updated the answer. Thank you for notifying me.  

---

