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Jingtian Posted 19 years ago
Vocabulary
can't have been (followed by nationality)
0 Here are several sentences from an English textbook. 02 br
02 br
00 -I think she was Danish. 02 br
00 -I don't think she was. She can't have been Danish. She must have been Swedish. 02 br
02 br
00 These sentences appear in a part devoted to the discussion of "can't have been" and "must have been". 02 br
02 br
00 -I think she is Danish. 02 br
00 -I don't think so. She can't be Danish. She must be Swedish. 02 br
02 br
00 What's the difference between them? 02 br
02 br
00 I guess when talking about a person we see or meet now, we use: 02 br
00 She can't be Danish. She must be Swedish. 02 br
00 But when we talk about a person that we saw or met before, we use: 02 br
00 She can't have been Danish. She must have been Swedish. 02 br
02 br
00 But someone told me that a person might change his/her nationality, therefore, "She can't have been Danish. She must have been Swedish" actually meant that it was impossible that she was Danish then and it was certain that she was Swedish then. 02 br
02 br
00 Which is right? I'm puzzled. 0-
02 br
00 -I think she was Danish. 02 br
00 -I don't think she was. She can't have been Danish. She must have been Swedish. 02 br
02 br
00 These sentences appear in a part devoted to the discussion of "can't have been" and "must have been". 02 br
02 br
00 -I think she is Danish. 02 br
00 -I don't think so. She can't be Danish. She must be Swedish. 02 br
02 br
00 What's the difference between them? 02 br
02 br
00 I guess when talking about a person we see or meet now, we use: 02 br
00 She can't be Danish. She must be Swedish. 02 br
00 But when we talk about a person that we saw or met before, we use: 02 br
00 She can't have been Danish. She must have been Swedish. 02 br
02 br
00 But someone told me that a person might change his/her nationality, therefore, "She can't have been Danish. She must have been Swedish" actually meant that it was impossible that she was Danish then and it was certain that she was Swedish then. 02 br
02 br
00 Which is right? I'm puzzled. 0-
Top answer
0 Hi Jingtian, 02 br 00 In my opinion, your guess is right. This type of sentence is used to express the degrees of certainty. In the first conversation, two speakers are discussing the girl they have met somewhere else before, so they use the presnt perfect tense here.
- 0 Hi Jingtian, 02 br 00 In my opinion, your guess is right.
- This type of sentence is used to express the degrees of certainty.
- In the first conversation, two speakers are discussing the girl they have met somewhere else before, so they use the presnt perfect tense here.
- And in the second conversation, two speakers are discussing the girl who is (maybe) at the same place with them.
- I mean with the presence of the girl while they are discussing her.
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3 Answers
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0 Hi Jingtian, 02 br
00 In my opinion, your guess is right. This type of sentence is used to express the degrees of certainty. In the first conversation, two speakers are discussing the girl they have met somewhere else before, so they use the presnt perfect tense here. And in the second conversation, two speakers are discussing the girl who is (maybe) at the same place with them. I mea
00 In my opinion, your guess is right. This type of sentence is used to express the degrees of certainty. In the first conversation, two speakers are discussing the girl they have met somewhere else before, so they use the presnt perfect tense here. And in the second conversation, two speakers are discussing the girl who is (maybe) at the same place with them. I mea
00
0 01 blockquote
01 cite 10 Jingtian 12 cite 10 Here are several sentences from an English textbook. -I think she was Danish. -I don't think she was. She can't have been Danish. She must have been Swedish. These sentences appear in a part devoted to the discussion of "can't have been" and "must have been". -I think she is Danish. -I don't think so. She can't be
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0 Thanks, Huynguyen and Philip. 02 br
02 br
00 I guess the main problem is that these sentences need putting into a context to be understood correctly. Therefore, I think I have got the right answer. 0-
02 br
00 I guess the main problem is that these sentences need putting into a context to be understood correctly. Therefore, I think I have got the right answer. 0-
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