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HungryHippo1234 Posted 6 years ago
Grammar
Could have
In: "All of this could've been avoided if you had just listened to me, and cleaned it up earlier."Does could've represent a possibility or an ability? Ability: If the person listened, it would've been prevented.Possiblity: If the person listened, it might've been prevented.
Top answer
a possibility or an ability? We don't generally think of 'can' or 'could' in terms of ability when the subject is not animate (as in 'all of this'). Nevertheless, since this sentence is passive, an implied "by you" is involved, and you can look at this one either way.
- a possibility or an ability?
- We don't generally think of 'can' or 'could' in terms of ability when the subject is not animate (as in 'all of this').
- Nevertheless, since this sentence is passive, an implied "by you" is involved, and you can look at this one either way.
- Quite often both possibility and ability are involved, so it's curious that so many students feel a need to say that it's one or the other.
- CJ
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1 Answers
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a possibility or an ability?
We don't generally think of 'can' or 'could' in terms of ability when the subject is not animate (as in 'all of this'). Nevertheless, since this sentence is passive, an implied "by you" is involved, and you can look at this one either way.
Quite often both possibility and ability are involved, so it's curious that so
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