Could or could have
Hi,
“How could he think it was a date? I never gave him a reason to make that assumption.”
“How could he have thought it was a date? I never gave him a reason to make that assumption.”
Is there just a difference in emphasis? I hear both versions all the time.
Thank you.Top answer
The version with "have" makes it clearer that you are talking about how he thought in the past, though in practice the first version would also commonly be used with this meaning intended. If you are talking about how he thinks now, then of course, of these two, you can only use the first one (or you can use "can" too, of course).
- The version with "have" makes it clearer that you are talking about how he thought in the past, though in practice the first version would also commonly be used with this meaning intended.
- If you are talking about how he thinks now, then of course, of these two, you can only use the first one (or you can use "can" too, of course).
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The version with "have" makes it clearer that you are talking about how he thought in the past, though in practice the first version would also commonly be used with this meaning intended.
If you are talking about how he thinks now, then of course, of these two, you can only use the first one (or you can use "can" too, of course).
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