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Just wondering how to phrase the following: "He may have been a bad person".

Would it be "Quizá puede haber sido una mala persona" or "Quizá fuese/fuera una mala persona"?

I would go for the latter but am unsure.

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I would actually remove "quizás" and use either of these:

  • Puede que haya sido una mala persona.
  • Puede que fuera una mala persona.

The difference lies in the "temporal distance": if "being a bad person" happened a long time ago, then "puede que fuera" reflects that fact. If instead it happened recently, then "puede que haya sido" is closer in time.

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  • Muchas gracias por ayudarme,Walen
    – Bluelion7
    Oct 25, 2019 at 8:13

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