0
Bmojtaba Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

could

which one is correct ?

'You shouldn't have come to the office and you could have /could have had a rest at home '

could we say 'could have a rest ' to refer to an action done in the past?
  

Top answer

bmojtaba 'You shouldn't have come to the office and you could have /could have had a rest at home ' I'd say that this way: You shouldn't have come to the office, you could have had a rest at home(, instead). bmojtaba could we say 'could have a rest ' to refer to an action done in the past? I suppose we could say "could have" as well there, but "could have" can express both "present" and "past" meaning.

— TomJ

  • bmojtaba 'You shouldn't have come to the office and you could have /could have had a rest at home ' I'd say that this way: You shouldn't have come to the office, you could have had a rest at home(, instead).
  • bmojtaba could we say 'could have a rest ' to refer to an action done in the past?
  • I suppose we could say "could have" as well there, but "could have" can express both "present" and "past" meaning.
  • So, I think using "could have had a rest" would be better there, because with "could have had", the meaning is clear that the speaker is talking about or referring to the past.
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

1 Answers
0
bmojtaba'You shouldn't have come to the office and you could have /could have had a rest at home '
I'd say that this way: You shouldn't have come to the office, you could have had a rest at home(, instead). 
bmojtabacould we say 'could have a rest ' to refer to an action done in the past?
I suppose we could say "could
0

Related Questions