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"Had he lived, Martin Luther King Jr. would be 95 years old this year." CNN-Martin's question remains unaswered

This sentence seems to start with Conditional Type 3 structure, but it does not keep the structure of Type 3.

I wonder why it is. Shouldn't it have been like this:

"Had he lived, he would have been 95 years old this year."

In other words, why is it "...would be..." instead of "...would have been..."?

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  • I don't know. I would have used would have been.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Jan 16 at 18:56
  • As is said repeatedly here, native English speakers do not follow the typology of conditionals taught in ESL/EFL classes. "Would have been" might be slightly more correct according to traditional rules, but is unnecessarily fussy for most contexts. The writer wants to emphasise the importance of MLK to the present, so uses the present tense, which is shorter and more immediate, as well as more usual.
    – Stuart F
    Commented Feb 4 at 13:40

1 Answer 1

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There is a grammar rule here.
But I only know the rules, I don't know the reason behind them.
It is called the present subjunctive mood.
its form is:

would(could+might)+do

for example:

If I had the time now, I would help him.

According to the sentence you provided.
there is a word "this year". it implies the assumption is based on the present.
so, the sentence should apply the the present subjunctive mood.

About "would have been"?
it is of the past subjunctive mood.

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