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Anonymous Posted 20 years ago
Grammar

Could/Can

1font001.02font00 No matter how he 01font00may02font00 01font00try02font00 he 01font00couldn't02font00 do it.02br
02br
01font002.02font00 No matter how he01font00 might try02font00 he 01font00couldn't 02font00do it.02br
02br
01font003.02font00 No matter how he 01font00might try02font00 he 01font00can't02font00 do it.02br
02br
01font004.02font00 No matter how he 01font00tried02font00 he 01font00can't02font00 do it.02br
02br
00Could you please talk to me about the above meanings - how and why they differ from each other.02br
02br
00Thank you0-
  

Top answer

0 Hello Anon02br 02br 00I'm sorry but I have to say all of your sentences sound a bit weird. The conjunction "No matter how" is usually followed by an indicative (non-modal) predication. #4 is wrong because of tense mismatch between the concessive and main clauses.

— Paco2004

  • 0 Hello Anon02br 02br 00I'm sorry but I have to say all of your sentences sound a bit weird.
  • The conjunction "No matter how" is usually followed by an indicative (non-modal) predication.
  • #4 is wrong because of tense mismatch between the concessive and main clauses.
  • 02br 02br 00paco0-
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3 Answers
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0 Hello Anon02br
02br
00I'm sorry but I have to say all of your sentences sound a bit weird. The conjunction "No matter how" is usually followed by an indicative (non-modal) predication. #4 is wrong because of tense mismatch between the concessive and main clauses. 02br
02br
00(EX) No matter how hard he tries, he can't do it.02br
00(EX) No mat
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Paco200412cite10Hello Anon12br
12br
10I'm sorry but I have to say all of your sentences sound a bit weird. The conjunction "No matter how" is usually followed by an indicative (non-modal) predication. #4 is wrong because of tense mismatch between the concessive and main clauses. 12br
12br
10
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0 I said the use of "may" and "might" in a no-matter-how clause is uncommon. The clause is usually expressed either in plain present or past indicative mood. When it is in the present (i.e., "he tries"), use "cannot" in the main, and when it is in the past (i.e., "he tried"), use "coudn't" in the main. The meaning of can/could is "be able to" in either case. 02br
02br
00paco
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