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Anonymous Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

Could have been VS. Could be

"He said that it could have been wrong"
VS.
"He said that it could be wrong"

I think the first sentence is more correct, considering tense agreement or is there some difference between them?
What do you think about it? Thank you so much in advance.
  

Top answer

He said that it could have been wrong before that time. He said that it could be wrong at that time.

— Mister Micawber

  • He said that it could have been wrong before that time.
  • He said that it could be wrong at that time.
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5 Answers
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He said that it could have been wrong before that time.
He said that it could be wrong at that time.
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Thank you, but I thought 'could have been' is a past form of 'could be' when used for guessing.
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Anonymous I thought 'could have been' is a past form of 'could be' when used for guessing.
I don't see what 'guessing' has to do with it, but that's just what I just indicated: could be at that time and could have been at some time before that time.
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Thank you, and could you take a look at this?

He said, "It could be wrong" ( here "could be" is used for lower possibility, not for the past)

-> He said that it could be wrong.

-> He said that it could have been wrong.

Come to think of it, you are right, but if we convert the direct version to the indirect version, both can be possible for the same meanin
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