Could in requests

Question

Hello,I know could is used in polite questions: Could you hand me this?But can could be used to make polite statements as well in the present tense? Can someone give examples and show what could means in such contexts?Thanks in advance.

Avangi · Accepted Answer

I think he could knock your block off. Is that polite?

I could help you across the street, if you like.

You must have had something in mind.

CalifJim · Answer

Anonymouscan could be used to make polite statements as well in the present tense?

Yes. You can substitute could for can in any situation where you wish to be indirect and/or avoid confrontation with the person you are speaking to.

If a group of people is having difficulty reaching a decision, for example, you can offer suggestions by saying We can ... or We could .... The higher the tension in the group, the more likely a person would be to substitute could for can. We could ... is less direct.

Suppose the group cannot decide where to have dinner.

We could have dinner at Joe's Pizza Parlor.
________

Obviously, if the situation does not involve human interaction, the idea of making a statement polite through this kind of substitution is meaningless.

This car can go 125 miles per hour. (Not could.)

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

Thanks, Jim, for the detailed explanation. Can one also use could in other circumstances where politeness is not required. For instance: He is greater than anything you could imagine. This is something only he could do. In both cases, I am sure can is right, but is could also okay?

What I am trying to say is: if we replace can with could in present tense even when there is no need for polite requests, does that mean we're making a tentative statement? In your last example, this car could go... would add a little uncertainty, right? This uncertainty is missing in this car can go...

I'd like to hear your thoughts.

Avangi · Answer

I think this car could go 150 mph.  (tentative)

Anonymous · Answer

Yes, Avangi, that's what I am trying to get. Can for definite statements (I can do it) and could for tentative ones (I could do it).

CalifJim · Answer

Can one also use could in other circumstances where politeness is not required? For instance: He is greater than anything you could imagine. Yes. This is something only he could do. Yes. In both cases, I am sure can is right, but is could also okay? Yes. could is also OK. The difference between can and could is very much like the difference between is able to and would be able to. If you know what would be able to means, you know one of the more important meanings of could.*

What I am trying to say is: if we replace can with could in present tense even when there is no need for polite requests, does that mean we're making a tentative statement? Yes. You might say it's "tentative" or "conditional" or "hypothetical". In your last example, this car could go... would add a little uncertainty, right? Uncertainty? No, I wouldn't put it that way. could adds something else, not uncertainty, because you can say, "I am quite certain that this car could go 125 mph".

could, like would, adds the idea of a thought-experiment. You imagine a world in which you try the experiment, and you draw a conclusion in this imagined world based on this imagined experiment.

can is unconditional. That is, it is not based on anything else.
could is conditional. That is, it is based on something else -- something imagined.

So, in the case of the car, when you say it could go 125 mph (that is, that it would be able to go 125 mph), you mean to indicate that if you did the experiment of driving the car to find out how fast it could go, you would see that it would, in fact, go 125 mph. In effect, with could you are giving your personal judgment rather than just stating the facts, as you do with can. That's why "I think" goes so often, and so well, with could (and would). It indicates a personal judgment. Note Avangi's example, "I think this car could go 150 mph", , i.e., in my opinion (personal judgment), this car could go 150 mph (if the right experiment were done to show it).

CJ

*Do not confuse this meaning of could (would be able to) with another (used to be able to).

(When it was brand new,) this car could (used to be able to) go 125 mph.

Could in requests

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