Can/could

Question

Are both OK:  I think the insulation in the restaurant is very good because you can/could hear exactly what the next table is talking about.What's the difference  between can and could here?

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

levis1What's the difference between can and could here?

There are a couple of factors to consider.

1. can is present. could is past. We usually keep the same tense ('matching tense') unless there is a really good reason not to. If you use 'can', you are keeping the same tense. This is normal.

I think the insulation in the restaurant is very good because you can/could hear exactly what the next table is talking about.

2. can is real. could is unreal. But what do we mean by this?

If you say this exactly at the time you are in the restaurant listening to people at the next table, then you can hear them. The situation is real because it is really happening.

If you say this at a time when you are not actually listening or hearing people at the next table talking, then you are just guessing. It's not a real situation that you are talking about. You're saying that if there were people there, you could hear them. This might be a reason that's good enough to justify changing the matching tense 'can' to the mismatching tense 'could'.

CJ

GPY · Answer

"can" means that you can hear any time you go. "could" means that you could hear on some past occasion. However, the sentence as a whole does not make sense.

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