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Rizan Malik Posted 5 years ago
Grammar

Could imagine or could've imagined

1) Yesterday I went to see my friend who lost her only son the day before in a car accident. Seeing me she started crying. I could imagine (at the time) what she was going through.

Is "could" OK? Or do we need "could have imagined" here?

"I could've imagined what she was going through."

  

Top answer

Hi - I could imagine how that feels. This kind of verb phrase is sometimes called stative. That means it describes a state of mind that is continuous.

  • Hi - I could imagine how that feels.
  • This kind of verb phrase is sometimes called stative.
  • That means it describes a state of mind that is continuous.
  • Therefore you do not need to give it a past tense - if you could imagine it then, you could imagine it now.
  • You do not need to say 'could have'.
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1 Answers
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Hi

- I could imagine how that feels.

This kind of verb phrase is sometimes called stative. That means it describes a state of mind that is continuous. Therefore you do not need to give it a past tense - if you could imagine it then, you could imagine it now. You do not need to say 'could have'.

Hope this helps

Dave

PS This is just my point of view but, if a pe

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