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HSS Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

Could Have

The following is an excerpt from a book I'm reading:


But ... as bad as it was, I learned something about myself. That I could go through something like that and survive. I mean, I know it could have been worse --- a lot worse --- but for me, it was all I could have handled at the time. And I learned from it.
Shouldn't "I could have handled" be "I could handle"?

Hiro/ Sendai, Japan
  

Top answer

It could be either. " I could have handled " is subjunctive. " I could handle " is indicative.

— Huevos

  • It could be either.
  • " I could have handled " is subjunctive.
  • " I could handle " is indicative.
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13 Answers
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It could be either. "I could have handled" is subjunctive. "I could handle" is indicative.
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Like you, I would prefer I could handle since whatever the person "could go through" really happened.
CB
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HSS
But ... as bad as it was, I learned something about myself. That I could go through something like that and survive. I mean, I know it could have been worse --- a lot worse --- but for me, it was all I could have handled at the time. And I learned from it.

Yes, and I think "and" instead of "but" is more like it. Al
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HSS
HSSBut ... as bad as it was, I learned something about myself. That I could go through something like that and survive. I mean, I know it could have been worse --- a lot worse --- but for me, it was all I could have handled at the time. And I learned from it.


Yes, and I think "and" instead
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Hi,

Just why do you think the author used "but" there? I mean, isn't it almost wrong to use it in the sentence? It does not conncet the clauses properly. Or, does it?

Hiro/ Sendai, Japan
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HSSJust why do you think the author used "but" there? I mean, isn't it almost wrong to use it in the sentence? It does not conncet the clauses properly. Or, does it?

Hiro/ Sendai, Japan

No, it doesn't. Don't the Japanese ever make grammatical mistakes or mistakes in syntax when they think?
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Cool BreezeNo, it doesn't.
I don't agree. In my opinion "and" would not be at home in this context. If we simplify the sentence it makes it clearer, to me at least, that "but" is correct. "It could have been worse, but it was all I could handle". How is "but" wrong here?
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HuevosI don't agree. In my opinion "and" would not be at home in this context. If we simplify the sentence it makes it clearer, to me at least, that "but" is correct. "It could have been worse, but it was all I could handle". How is "but" wrong here?

Fine. Disagreeing is normal in life. To me, the incorrect use of the perfect inf
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With "but" it reads as though the author had looked for the worse to happen. That's why I brought the question up. She sounds like she has been contended with what she did to prevent any worse thing to happen.

You would sometimes use "could (past tense)" for "could have" as in:

[1] I could do it, but I didn't do it. (cf. "I could have done it (I didn't do it))

Would you
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HSS[2] Although it was difficult, but I could have handled it single-handedly.
You'll find countless examples of could using the Search engine in the upper right-hand corner. Sentence [2] is ungrammatical. Although is a subordinating conjunction and but is a co-ordinating conju
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