Grammar help please?
Hi,
Could you tell me what exactly different between these two words in these two sentences?
Could/can
Would/will
I [ could / would ] have gone out last night, but I didn't because...
He [ could / would ] have arrived by now, I am not sure.
Cheers
Top answer
John Aki I [ could / would ] have gone out last night, but I didn't because... "could" implies unrealised possibility, while "would" implies thwarted volition. Possibly "could" is a better fit with the second part of the sentence, given the exact way that this is phrased, but in practice "would" would not be noticed as hugely different in meaning in this context.
- John Aki I [ could / would ] have gone out last night, but I didn't because...
- "could" implies unrealised possibility, while "would" implies thwarted volition.
- Possibly "could" is a better fit with the second part of the sentence, given the exact way that this is phrased, but in practice "would" would not be noticed as hugely different in meaning in this context.
- John Aki He [ could / would ] have arrived by now, I am not sure.
- "He would have arrived by now" implies too much speaker confidence to be compatible with "I am not sure".
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John AkiI [ could / would ] have gone out last night, but I didn't because...
"could" implies unrealised possibility, while "would" implies thwarted volition. Possibly "could" is a better fit with the second part of the sentence, given the exact way that this is phrased, but in practice "would" would not be noticed as hugely different in meaning in this con
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