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Cat fold 525 Posted 7 years ago
Grammar
Could not have been more different/could not be more different
On the surface, we could not have been more different. Trim and dignified, he was born in Britain and had the bearing of a statesman. I had grown up just 16 miles north of Boston, In Salem, Massachusetts, the only son of an Irish-American railroad conductor.
I can't see the difference between "could not have been more different" and "could not be more different". Could you tell me their difference?
Top answer
When the speaker uses " could not have been more different " he seems to refer to the idea ( being different) until the time he was referring to. Whereas, " could not be" more different expresses the idea as a general condition in the past.
- When the speaker uses " could not have been more different " he seems to refer to the idea ( being different) until the time he was referring to.
- Whereas, " could not be" more different expresses the idea as a general condition in the past.
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1 Answers
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When the speaker uses "could not have been more different" he seems to refer to the idea ( being different) until the time he was referring to. Whereas, "could not be" more different expresses the idea as a general condition in the past.
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