Could could come
You must have been sitting awfully quietly, that he could could come in there and not notice you. (Cited by Geoffrey K. Pullum in Language Log.)
Should second "could" be replaced by "have" in the cited sentence?
Top answer
It is a presumably a misprint, possibly for "he could have come in there", as you suggest, or simply for "he could come in there". Edit: Sorry, it will be the latter. If the former then it would be "noticed" not "notice".
- It is a presumably a misprint, possibly for "he could have come in there", as you suggest, or simply for "he could come in there".
- Edit: Sorry, it will be the latter.
- If the former then it would be "noticed" not "notice".
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It is a presumably a misprint, possibly for "he could have come in there", as you suggest, or simply for "he could come in there".
Edit: Sorry, it will be the latter. If the former then it would be "noticed" not "notice".
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