Different past tenses on a time line

Question

Hi everyone, I'm quite confused about the usage of different past tenses. I understand that "was/could" means a simple past tense, while "had + past particle" means a past perfect tense, and is considered to be farther in the past than a simple past tense, but I'm unsure of this one, "could/might/would + have". I know it is one of the past tenses but not clear about its relationship with simple past tense and past perfect tense, is it temporally intermediate between the aforementioned two past tenses and sometimes even equal to them, in general ? Or it is simply a present perfect tense ?

I drew a time line to illustrate my understanding/assumption :
(Please view the dots as spaces, I'm clueless why the spaces are gone once I make posts ...)

.....(Would/Could/might have)
..........|..............|..............|
-------X -------- X -------- X -------- (Now)
..........|............................ |
....(Past.P)........... (Was/could)

My question arises from these sentences :

a. "If The President Could Have Been Trayvon, Could You Be A Zimmerman ?" (Forbes)

I'm pretty certain that this is a statement contrary to the present fact, and so ought to be written in a simple past tense, such as "If The President Could be Trayvon, Could You Be A Zimmerman ?" or "If The President were Trayvon, Could You Be A Zimmerman ?". From the above deduction, I assumed that "were/could" were replaced by "could have", and both were interchangeable (as I initially suggest in the first paragraph). Nonetheless, I'm afraid of any assertive judgement and came here for further advice.

Here's another similar sentence :

b. "What would be your strategy if you could've done it differently ?" (Travel and Living channel, Host asking a failed challenger)

I suppose this is as well contrary to the present fact (as he can't redo what's already been done obviously), and therefore is another example that implies the possible substitution between "could have" and any equivalently-meaning phrase in a simple past tense ? and which can be written as "What would be your strategy if you had the ability to do it differently" ?

Thanks in advance

Avangi · Accepted Answer

Meowmechon I'm clueless why the spaces are gone once I make posts

That's an improvement that was made a a couple of years ago to save space on the servers (I think

).
It does make it impossible to construct charts and tables.

Meowmechon"If The President Could Have Been Trayvon, Could You Be A Zimmerman ?"

This one requires a little background information on the story from which it was drawn.
The President made some speculative remarks, eg, "I could have been Trayvon!"
Forbes is probably quoting some interview in which a reporter is asking someone to expand on the President's speculations.
So it's okay to ask, "If that was possible, is this therefore possible?"
That is, we're preserving the tense of the President's speculation, as borrowed by the Forbes reporter.

Meowmechon "What would be your strategy if you could've done it differently ?"

To my ear, this is okay.
If you had it to do all over again, what would you do? .

(I realize your question is more about the grammar (correct tense sequence) than about "what the speaker means.")

If you could have done it differently, what would you have done? . Of course this is grammatically correct.
Of course we're again asking the respondent to speculate. I'd probably ask, "What might you have done?"
"What would you have done?" assumes that the respondent had alternative solutions in mind at the time he did whatever he did.
It also assumes that he knew that no other action was possible at the time.

When you ask someone to speculate, you're often venturing into uncharted territory, and conditions which affect the facts may also affect the grammar.

Meowmechon · Answer

Thanks, this is exactly the answer I've been looking for !!

Is it alright to say "If you could it differently, what would you do? " ? But I suppose that might sound unusual because "could" may refer to both present and past facts, which may not fit the purpose to state an past event better than "could have" under the context here?

And I expect it's alright to say "If I could have had another chance, I would have done it differently". ?

Thanks !

Avangi · Answer

MeowmechonIs it alright to say "If you could do it differently, what would you do? " ?

Yes, this is fine.

Of course there's the implication that some sort of example exists (perhaps only a sketch, or an explanation), making clear exactly what we're seeking an alternative to.
(Differently than what??)

Meowmechon · Answer

Additionally, if one say "I thought I could have found love", does it simply mean "I thought I could" or does it
carry the implication that "I thought I could and it didn't happen" ? I remember "could have" usually means something that didn't happen in the past.

Avangi · Answer

"I thought I could find love" vs "I thought I could have found love"

They both imply that the quest failed.

The second one works like past perfect tense. It evokes some past event as a sort of marker.

I thought I could have found love before my visa expired.
I thought I could have found love while I still had my Ferrari.

Then there's always the issue of whether or not you really need the past perfect.
In both of my examples, there's enough information to explain the sequence of events without using "have."

i.e., I thought I could find love before my visa expired.

But it's not always about the past.

Hi, John! What are you doing here? (reply) I thought perhaps I could give you a hand.

Another use is trying to remember or figure out what might have happened.
I thought I could have left my car keys in my other jacket.

Meowmechon · Answer

I apologize if I've asked too much in advance ...

I'm in a bit of fuzz now ..., I might have to digest some of the advice you offered ... please be kind if I get back again !

And you seem to have missed one sentence, "If I could have had another chance, I would have done it differently".

Is it alright ? And also considered to be a use of past perfect I suppose ?

Avangi · Answer

Meowmechon "If I could have had another chance, I would have done it differently".

This is a great example. Yes, it's fine.

In terms of time sequence, it's the equivalent of "If I had had another chance etc."
To include the meaning of "could," you could say, "If I had been able to have another chance etc."

I'm not exactly an authority on modals!

To me, it partakes of the past perfect, but others may disagree.

Different past tenses on a time line

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