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Anonymous Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

Can vs. Could

Hi there I woud like to ask whether you can say something like "he can't have been there" when you are talking about past i would normally use "he couldn't have been there" but now I am a bit unsure whether it is correct to use"he can't have been there". So is it ok to use the sentence with can't and if so is there any difference? Thanks
  

Top answer

Anonymous I woud like to ask whether you can say something like "he can't have been there" It's correct. Anonymous So is it ok to use the sentence with can't and if so is there any difference? Thanks I believe one way to look at it is that If you're referring to a past situation you use couldn't and use can't if he still may be there.

— Surfer

  • Anonymous I woud like to ask whether you can say something like "he can't have been there" It's correct.
  • Anonymous So is it ok to use the sentence with can't and if so is there any difference?
  • Thanks I believe one way to look at it is that If you're referring to a past situation you use couldn't and use can't if he still may be there.
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2 Answers
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AnonymousI woud like to ask whether you can say something like "he can't have been there"
It's correct.
AnonymousSo is it ok to use the sentence with can't and if so is there any difference? Thanks
I believe one way to look at it is that If you're referring to a past situation you use couldn't and use c
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He can't have been there. The speaker thinks that the possibility that 'he' was there does not exist.
He couldn't have been there. The speaker thinks that it was not possible for 'him' to be there.

In practice, there is not a great deal of difference.
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