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Vcolts Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

Can vs. Could

Ex. A: If he buys the car, he can drive to school.

Ex. B: If he buys the car, he could drive to school.

Ex. A: If he follows a strict schedule, he could save a lot of time.

Ex. B: If he follows a strict schedule, he can save a lot of time.

Are both A & B exactly the same in meaning and interchangeable academically?

Thanks!
  

Top answer

You may in reality hear the "mixed" cases like 1B and 2B, but these are preferable in my view: If he bought the car, he could drive to school. If he followed a strict schedule, he could save a lot of time. These feel a bit more hypothetical than 1A and 2A.

— GPY

  • You may in reality hear the "mixed" cases like 1B and 2B, but these are preferable in my view: If he bought the car, he could drive to school.
  • If he followed a strict schedule, he could save a lot of time.
  • These feel a bit more hypothetical than 1A and 2A.
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5 Answers
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You may in reality hear the "mixed" cases like 1B and 2B, but these are preferable in my view:

If he bought the car, he could drive to school.
If he followed a strict schedule, he could save a lot of time.

These feel a bit more hypothetical than 1A and 2A.
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GPY"mixed" cases like 1B and 2B
I think I get what you mean, but the OP has not set them up symmetrically as can-could-can-could.

CJ
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CalifJimI think I get what you mean, but the OP has not set them up symmetrically as can-could-can-could.
Yes, thanks, you're right, I mixed up the A's and B's.
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So that means YES?
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vcoltsSo that means YES?
No, it means that when I said 1B and 2B I meant 1B and 2A, and when I said 1A and 2A I meant 1A and 2B. When I replied, I assumed that you would have written the question so that the A's and B's were parallel (forgetting that what I had just read was not actually set out that way).
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