Man: You’ll have to come and see my new apartment some time. It's no too far form the office.
Woman: I didn't realize you'd already moved in.
Is everything okay so far or have you had any problems?
Man : The apartment is perfect. The only negative is that the TV cable company still hasn’t hooked up my service so I just have to watch DVDs.
Woman: I’d have thought you’d still be busy decorating and arranging things, which Ialways find fun.

Does the sentence in bold above mean that:
'If we hadn't had this conversation, I'd have thought you'd still be busy decorating...'?
or
'If you hadn't said it, I'd have thought you'd still be busy decorating...'?

Thank you in advance.

I think your interpretations are close, Jey.

'I would have thought' is an expression which means 'I am surprised to learn this because I expected something else from your usual behavior.'

It's neither a bad or good thought. The speaker is just surprised because he expected a different scenario.

We can also use the past simple:
Oh, I thought that you were busy ...

And also "would:"
I would always think that people were too busy when they moved ...

And the past continuous:
I was thinking that you were too busy ...

Any comments on the above options?



Any other options?

For example, would you also use the present simple with "would" here?

I would always think that people are very busy when they move ...

I think this is also possible because we need a general tense here. "I would think" could be replaced with "my thought is that:"

My thought is that people are very busy when they move ...

Two set expressions are 'I would have thought,' referring to an action that has already occurred and that is surprising to you, and 'I would think,' which expresses your surprise at ongoing or present events.

We just don't say, I would always think.

The two expressions I mention first are not the same as 'my thought is ...' 'My thought is...' introduces your thought. It actually is not a reaction or a response, as 'I would have thought' and 'I would think' are.

Thank you, Rachel, for your correction. And can I have your comments on these two options as well?

- I always used to think that people were/are too busy when they moved/move to new places, but I'm now really surprised to hear that you aren't busy at all.

- [Before I talked with you,] I had always thought that people were/are too busy when they moved/move to new places, but I'm now really surprised to hear that you aren't busy at all.


The reason I'm getting into details about this is that someone asked me nearly the same question two weeks ago, and I provided him with many other options. I just want to make sure about them. Thanks.

Yes, those two constructions are perfect.

I think they differ in tone a little bit from the 'I would have thought' constructions. Tell me what you think.

Your two new sentences show a clean break with your old ideas. You have been enlightened and now the old ideas don't enter your head or influence your values.

The sentences with 'would' hint that you might still be keeping your old ideas about the person performing the actions, even though your head is clear about the fact that he didn't perform as you had expected.

Yes, I see what you mean, and I think you're right. The ones I suggested are stronger and broader. I hadn't noticed that at first. Interesting point!