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Gedskii Posted 10 years ago
Grammar

grammar and language variation

i just took a quiz i thought i got this right but ended up wrong. Is the grammar of American english far different from the British english?
3. Louisa is still in Palma, so you (this is my answer- COULDN'T SEE)
(but the answer is: CAN'T HAVE SEEN) her at the library.
  

Top answer

Hello, gedskii, and welcome to English Forums. Thank you for registering as a member. BrE and AmE both use 'can't have seen' (or 'couldn't have seen') in that sentence, I believe.

— Mister Micawber

  • Hello, gedskii, and welcome to English Forums.
  • Thank you for registering as a member.
  • BrE and AmE both use 'can't have seen' (or 'couldn't have seen') in that sentence, I believe.
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5 Answers
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Hello, gedskii, and welcome to English Forums. Thank you for registering as a member.

BrE and AmE both use 'can't have seen' (or 'couldn't have seen') in that sentence, I believe.
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Thank you sir, but do you mind explaining to the grammar..pls
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'Couldn't see' there would be a present conditional verb form, but the context refers to a past event, requiring a past conditional form.
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Mister Micawber'Couldn't see' there would be a present conditional verb form,
It can be interpreted as a past-tense form, meaning 'wasn't/weren't able to'. This works if we take 'so' to mean 'that is why'. If that were the intended meaning, I would add 'and' before 'so'.
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