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Anonymous Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
Grammar question
Hi
Today I've decided to learn something more about conditionals. And everything seemed easy until I saw this sentence:
School is free in finland and I didn't have a visa anymore so I couldn't have stayed either way.
Afterwards I've read that we can combine conditionals. So what I wanted to ask is, does this sentence have something to do with that? And yes, the part ''couldn't have'' is confusing for me.
Today I've decided to learn something more about conditionals. And everything seemed easy until I saw this sentence:
School is free in finland and I didn't have a visa anymore so I couldn't have stayed either way.
Afterwards I've read that we can combine conditionals. So what I wanted to ask is, does this sentence have something to do with that? And yes, the part ''couldn't have'' is confusing for me.
Top answer
School is free in F inland and I didn't have a visa anymore so I couldn't have stayed either way. There's no conditional part in that sentence. "couldn't have" simply indicates a missed opportunity in the past due to certain obstacles or someone's inability.
- School is free in F inland and I didn't have a visa anymore so I couldn't have stayed either way.
- There's no conditional part in that sentence.
- "couldn't have" simply indicates a missed opportunity in the past due to certain obstacles or someone's inability.
- Here's an example of "combined" conditionals: I could have stayed (cond.
- 3) if I had a visa (cond.
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4 Answers
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School is free in Finland and I didn't have a visa anymore so I couldn't have stayed either way.There's no conditional part in that sentence.
"couldn't have" simply indicates a missed opportunity in the past due to certain obstacles or someone's inability.
Here's an example of "combined" conditionals:
I could have stayed (cond. 3) if I ha
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Dusan StojilkovicSchool is free in Finland and I didn't have a visa anymore so I couldn't have stayed either way.There's something anomalous about the sentence to begin with. How does school being free have to do with staying? What are the two ways referred to by the expression "either way"? It's not clear.
I th
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Okay. I understand your explanation about condtitionals.
But I have another question, and it's about possibility in the past.
Can I ask here, or should I open a new thread?
But I have another question, and it's about possibility in the past.
Can I ask here, or should I open a new thread?
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