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Tenjing Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
Could have been
Jack: What have you been doing for an hour to make the boss happy?
Alex: I have been wiping the windows.
Jack: You could have done better things; you could have preparing his documents; you could have cleaning his room.(the meaning of could have been means 'IT WAS POSSIBLE FOR YOU TO DO BUT YOU DIDN'T')
Could you please check whether the use of 'could have been' in the conversation correct, even though the conversation sounds a little awkward?
Alex: I have been wiping the windows.
Jack: You could have done better things; you could have preparing his documents; you could have cleaning his room.(the meaning of could have been means 'IT WAS POSSIBLE FOR YOU TO DO BUT YOU DIDN'T')
Could you please check whether the use of 'could have been' in the conversation correct, even though the conversation sounds a little awkward?
Top answer
Jack: What have you been doing for the past hour to make the boss happy? Alex: I have been wiping the windows. Jack: You could have been doing better (more productive) things; you could have been preparing his documents; you could have been cleaning his office; or you could have been filtering his email.
- Jack: What have you been doing for the past hour to make the boss happy?
- Alex: I have been wiping the windows.
- Jack: You could have been doing better (more productive) things; you could have been preparing his documents; you could have been cleaning his office; or you could have been filtering his email.
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2 Answers
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Jack: What have you been doing for the past hour to make the boss happy?
Alex: I have been wiping the windows.
Jack: You could have been doing better (more productive) things; you could have been preparing his documents; you could have been cleaning his office; or you could have been filtering his email.
Alex: I have been wiping the windows.
Jack: You could have been doing better (more productive) things; you could have been preparing his documents; you could have been cleaning his office; or you could have been filtering his email.
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