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Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

Essay grammar - could/can

Hi everyone,

I was wondering which of these is gramatically correct for the context of an essay i am doing.

I am doing it on whether the BNP is better off without nick griffin.

I am not sure whether i should say 'can' or 'could', given that it is an essay which assesses his successes/failures to predict whether the party can/could do better without him with a new leader. Therefore, because what i'm writing is uncertain to happen, which term would it be gramtically correct to use?

thanks,
James
  

Top answer

Hi James, The party can do better. Places it more in the realm of the possible. The party could do better .

— Clive

  • Hi James, The party can do better.
  • Places it more in the realm of the possible.
  • The party could do better .
  • Places it more in the realm of the conditional/hypothetical.
  • Clive
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5 Answers
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Hi James,

The party can do better. Places it more in the realm of the possible.

The party could do better. Places it more in the realm of the conditional/hypothetical.

Clive
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The future may be uncertain, but word choice here depends more on the writer's confidence.
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Thanks very much guys.

In order to avoid nuances in words, would it be clearer to say that the party has potential to do better?
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We don't avoid nuances – we embrace them!
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AnonymousThanks very much guys.In order to avoid nuances in words, would it be clearer to say that the party has potential to do better?
This is the matter of writing style.
All (technical writing) manuals teach how to write wit less but not with more words unless the sense is lost
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