could do/have done

Question

How could you __ that yesterday? (A) do (B) have doneWhich choice is correct?

Welkins2139 · Accepted Answer

do

Marius Hancu · Answer

I think you can have both.

How could you do that yesterday?
(astonishment/surprise at the person for really having done a perhaps awful thing)

How could you have done that yesterday? It was clear you didn't have the time for it.
(A rhetorical question. The action/thing was not done, because the person didn't have time to do it. Thus how can one, that person or a third party, pretend that it was feasible?)

Philip · Answer

Marius HancuI think you can have both.

(astonishment/surprise at the person for really having done a perhaps awful thing)

(A rhetorical question. The action/thing was not done, because the person didn't have time to do it. Thus how can one, that person or a third party, pretend that it was feasible?)

I think both interpretations are possible, but I don't see any connection between meaning and tense. I'd use "have done" for either, out of personal choice.

Keewi · Answer

Personally, the meaning is not clear or incompleted.

Therefore, you can use all of them.

Am I right ?

Clive · Answer

Hi guys,

I agree that both are possible. In both cases, I think that two interpretations are possible.

1. You didn't do it. I know you didn't do it. How could anyone expect you to have done it?
2. You did it. I'm shocked. I demand to know what led you to do it.

There is a subtle difference arising from the two tense choices.

How could you do that yesterday? This means 'How could you actually do the act?'

How could you have done that yesterday? The perfect tense means 'How could you be in a state of having done the act?'

Best wishes, Clive

Keewi · Answer

Clive, you are always clear and understandable.

[Y]

Ticce · Answer

To tell you the truth I don't understand what

Clivea state of having done the act

means.

A state is a state, an action is an action. What is it a state of an action? I am confused.

CalifJim · Answer

TicceA state is a state, an action is an action. What is it a state of an action? I am confused.

It's not a state of an action. (That doesn't make much sense.)

"A state of having done an action" is a state that is the result of an action.

The state expressed by "I am bald, and I have a burnt scalp" is the result of the action expressed by "I have set my hair on fire"!

Likewise, the state of "The lights are on" is the result of the action "Someone has turned the lights on"; the state of "I know how to swim" is the result of the action "I have learned to swim"; the state of "I have a new shirt" is the result of the action "I have bought a new shirt".

These can all be expressed with "having":

the state [of / resulting from] having turned the lights on
the state [of / resulting from] having learned to swim
the state [of / resulting from] having bought a new shirt

CJ

Ticce · Answer

CalifJimIt's not a state of an action. (That doesn't make much sense.)

This is why I asked

CalifJimThe state expressed by "I am bald, and I have a burnt scalp" is the result of the action expressed by "I have set my hair on fire"!

Well I can see how it works with this example because the action rubs off on the doer. However, if my action has influenced another object not me, what state is left for the doer of the action.

In this sentence - How could you have done that yesterday? - I can't imagine a state which would entailed with his having done something.

For example - How could you have said such thing to him?

What is the state of the speaker after his having said.

CalifJim · Answer

Ticceif my action has influenced another object not me, what state is left for the doer of the action(?)

Only microscopic traces in his brain, I suppose, if I may take you literally.

If you know how to do something, it's because you have learned it. That's all about changes in the brain, isn't it? The state of the brain is the result of the activities of learning.

How could you have done that yesterday? asks how it is possible that you have done it. The part "that you have done it" can be rephrased as "that you are in the state of having done it" if you want to be fancy about it.

Following this line of thought, we can say that we are now in all the states of having done anything and everything that we have ever done in our lives. It equates every experience we ever had to a state that results from the fact that we had that experience. These states can be rather abstract.

CJ

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