Used to describe actions that started in the past and continue into or have direct relevance to the present.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"If you'd have told me when I was seven or eight and first getting into bird watching that I'd be seeing cranes in my home county, I'd have laughed," he continued.
From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2026
If you didn’t read about it in the news, you might have laughed at Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, or a correspondent on “The Daily Show” joking about it.
From Salon ● Mar. 14, 2026
If that encounter had been described to Newsom five years ago—when turbine sales were much slower, renewable energy was in favor and electricity demand was flat—he says he probably would have laughed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025
Calvi, 30, who lives in Sydney, would have laughed shyly.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2025
Had the situation not been so tragic, we might have laughed.
From "Night" by Elie Wiesel
