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Sun 94 Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

Possible structure

Is the following structure right?

He could have had ice cream.

--> It was possible for him to have ice cream, but he was not able to.

--> It was possible that he had ice cream, but he could not.

---> It is possible that he had ice cream, but he could not.
  

Top answer

No, it doesn't work that way. " If someone is able to do something, that condition applies both to the situation and to the person. If the ice cream were there for him to take but someone had tied a bag over his head, you cannot say that he could have had ice cream - unless you make it a conditional sentence: He could have had ice cream if someone had untied him.

— Avangi

  • No, it doesn't work that way.
  • " If someone is able to do something, that condition applies both to the situation and to the person.
  • If the ice cream were there for him to take but someone had tied a bag over his head, you cannot say that he could have had ice cream - unless you make it a conditional sentence: He could have had ice cream if someone had untied him.
  • He could have had ice cream, but he was unable to get there in time.
  • )
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2 Answers
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No, it doesn't work that way.

"He could" means "he is/was able."

You can't say, "He could do X, but he could not do X."

You can say, "He could, but he did not."

If someone is able to do something, that condition applies both to the situation and to the person.

If the ice cream were there for him to take but someone had tied a bag over his
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excuse my ignorance, but what do you mean by structure?
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