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Diamondrg Posted 20 years ago
Grammar

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0Which is correct? Is there anything wrong with the sentence?02br
02br
01b00She ---- whatever cars she liked, but she usually preferred Hondas.02b02br
02br
00A) had bought02br
00B) could buy02br
00C) is supposed to buy02br
00D) could have bought 02br
00E) has bought0-
  

Top answer

02font 02b 02br 02br 01font 00A) had bought02br 00B) could buy02br 00C) is supposed to buy02br 00D) could have bought 02br 00E) has bought02font 02br 02br 00Best wishes, Clive0-

— Clive

  • 02font 02b 02br 02br 01font 00A) had bought02br 00B) could buy02br 00C) is supposed to buy02br 00D) could have bought 02br 00E) has bought02font 02br 02br 00Best wishes, Clive0-
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23 Answers
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0Hi,02br
02br
01font00Which is correct?01font00 D.02font00 01font00The whole thing is clearly set in the past.02font00 02font02br
02br
01font00Is there anything wrong with the sentence?02font0
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Clive12cite12br
10Hi,12br
12br
11font10Which is correct?11font10 D.12font10 11font10The whole thing is clearly set in the past.12font10 12font12br
12br
11fon
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0 I would pick " b" 0-
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0Hi guys,02br
02br
00I think these are certainly valid points. I still prefer D, because to me the sentence implies that she actually bought Hondas in the past, and the sense of the sentence is that at the times she bought them, she 'could have' bought another brand. 02br
02br
00Possibly, I'm reading too much into the sentence. 02br
02br

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0 I'd choose B.02br
02br
00"Could have V-ed" implies the activity V was not realized. "She could have bought any kind of car (if she had wanted to), but she bought a motorbike" is OK. "She could have bought a Porsche (if she had wanted to), but she bought a Honda" is also OK. But "She could have bought any kind of car (if she had wanted to), but actually she chose a Honda" so
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0 D is better than B, in my opinion.02br
02br
00 I don't have an adequate explanation, however. It just seems to me that if B is used, the sentence should be as follows:02br
02br
01i00She could buy whatever cars she liked, 01u00and02u00 she usually preferred Hondas.02i02br
02br
00 These seem natu
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0 01blockquote
01cite10CalifJim12cite10D is better than B, in my opinion.12br
10I don't have an adequate explanation, however. It just seems to me that if B is used, the sentence should be as follows:12br
11i10She could buy whatever cars she liked, 11u10and12u10 she usually preferred Hondas.12i
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0 My assessment was not based on the type of car.02br
00 Are you saying that you would prefer a different answer if the name of a very expensive car replaced 01i00Honda02i00 in that sentence?02br
02br
00 CJ0-
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0 Hi,02br
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00This question is almost the same as mine in this thread 05002br
02br
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00And now it beats me.I agree with Paco I think both options are correct. 0260hrefhttp://www.EnglishForward.com/English/GrammarQuestion/cwldp/Post.htm
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0 01blockquote
01cite10CalifJim12cite10My assessment was not based on the type of car.12br
10Are you saying that you would prefer a different answer if the name of a very expensive car replaced 11i10Honda12i10 in that sentence?12blockquote
10Yes. I take "could buy whatever cars she liked" as "was e
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