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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

Can't have recognized

Is it possible that the word "fail" is missing?

1) It's strange that Brian didn't even stop and say hello. He can't have recognized us.

It means: It's impossible that he didn't recognize us.

2) Helen can't have taken the car. She didn't have the keys.

It means: it is impossible that she took the car.

In the first sentence there are two negations, while in the second - only one.

Should we use the word "fail" in the first sentence?

He can't have failed to recognize us.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you.
  

Top answer

Hi, ) It's strange that Brian didn't even stop and say hello. He can't have recognized us. It means: It's im possible that he didn't recognize us.

— Clive

  • Hi, ) It's strange that Brian didn't even stop and say hello.
  • He can't have recognized us.
  • It means: It's im possible that he didn't recognize us.
  • As written, it means: it's impossible that he recognized us.
  • 2) Helen can't have taken the car.
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10 Answers
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Hi,

) It's strange that Brian didn't even stop and say hello. He can't have recognized us.

It means: It's impossible that he didn't recognize us.

As written, it means: it's impossible that he recognized us.

2) Helen can't have taken the car. She didn't have the keys.

It means: it is impossible that she took the car. Yes
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Since "can't have failed" and "can't have taken" are actually referring to the past, can we also used "couldn't have failed" and "couldn't have taken" because 'could' goes with 'did' in the OP's example?

Would there be a change in meaning?

Please advise. Thank you.
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Anonymouscan we also used use "couldn't have failed" and "couldn't have taken"
A. She can't have taken the car.

Meaning: It cannot be the case (logically) that she has taken the car. It is not (logically) possible that she has taken the car. The only logical conclusion is that she has not taken
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Thank you Clive.

Do you think it was a misprint?

The thing is that I have found this sentence in the Macmillan grammar book.

Initialy there were two options:

It's strange that Brian didn't even stop and say hello. He can't have recognized/shouldn't have recognized us.

My choice in favour of the first option was approved by the keys provided in t
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Thank you, CJ, for your helpful response.
CalifJimIn the case at hand, both can't have and couldn't have convey the same message.
Since both convey the same message and I think there is no noticeable difference, would you say 'can't have' and 'couldn't have' can be used interchangeably except when the point of view is the past as evident from the
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Hi,

It's strange that Brian didn't even stop and say hello. He can't have recognized us.

It means: It's impossible that he didn't recognize us. <<< It's just this explanation that is wrong. The English as written above is fine. I'm not sure if you realize this.

As written, it means: it's impossible that he recognized us. The speaker is sa
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Wow! Now I'm totaly lost.

Imagine the same boy Brian at mascarade where everybody wears masks and it's hard to recognize anybody.

We were in masks. Brian couldn't have recognized us. ==> We are surprised that he did recognize us! It's impossible that recognized us.

How does it corelate with the initial sentence? And why did you agree that "fail" is missing the
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AnonymousThank you, CJ, for your helpful response.
CalifJimIn the case at hand, both can't have and couldn't have convey the same message.
Since both convey the same message and I think there is no noticeable difference, would you say 'can't have' and 'couldn't have' can be used interchangeably except when the point of view is the past
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CalifJimYes. That's a fairly reasonable approach.
Thank you for that confirmation.
CalifJimAnother approach is to consider "can't have" as the analog to the present perfect, and "couldn't have" as the analog to the simple past, or, in more complex contexts perhaps, the past perfect.
Your analogy is really helpful and a good
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Hi again,

You originally wrote this.

1) It's strange that Brian didn't even stop and say hello. He can't have recognized us.

It means: It's impossible that he didn't recognize us.



The sentence is correct, but the meaning you state is not correct for that sentence. It is correct for another sentence. You either have to correct t
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