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Tenjing Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

couldn't have.

A. I couldn't have beaten him in the tennis match yesterday. Does it mean I didn't beat him because I didn't play the match with him, if I had played the tennis match with him, I wouldn't have been able to beat him, right? ?
B. I couldn't have passed the exam. Does it mean I didn't pass the exam because I didn't take it. If I had talked the exam, I wouldn't have been able to pass it, right??
  

Top answer

Without more context, we don't know whether the speakers played in the match or took the exam.

— Fivejedjon

  • Without more context, we don't know whether the speakers played in the match or took the exam.
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10 Answers
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Without more context, we don't know whether the speakers played in the match or took the exam.
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There was enough context. I don't know what you want to know.
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To me, "the tennis match yesterday" suggests that the match was played (and you lost). The second one is ambiguous because the exam can have existed anyway, whether or not you took it.
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If I am not correct then, tell me how to use 'couldn't have'.
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tenjingIf I am not correct
Your sentences are correct English. Your questions are too confusingly phrased for me to be sure what you are asking or whether you have mistyped something.
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I couldn't have passed the exam if I had taken it last year. I didn't take the exam.

Even if I had worked a lot harder, I couldn't have passed the exam. As it was, I failed dismally. I took the exam.
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The context of the second sentence is as follow,
You did very well to pass the exam. I am sure I couldn't have passed it. I can't give you more context than this. Does it mean I didn't pass the exam because I didn't take it. If I had taken the exam I wouldn't have passed it. Is it still clear? The first sentence is the same as the second one.
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tenjingDoes it mean I didn't pass the exam because I didn't take it. If I had taken the exam I wouldn't have passed it.
I still find this still confusing. The expected corollary to "I didn't pass the exam because I didn't take it" is "If I had taken the exam I would/might have passed it".
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tenjingYou did very well to pass the exam. I am sure I couldn't have passed it.
I would generally take this to mean I did not take the exam, but if I had taken it I would not have been able to pass it. However, the sentence does not rule out the possibility that the speaker tried and failed, it's just that if this were the case the speaker would p
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tenjingYou did very well to pass the exam. I am sure I couldn't have passed it.
That makes sense to me.

The speaker is impressed with the fact that the other person managed to pass. The speaker did not take the exam. If s/he had taken it, s/he would have failed.
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