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Qingqing Posted 21 years ago
Grammar

The use of could

I thought you ______ like something to read, so I have brought you some books.

A. may B. might C. could D. must

He may/might/could be in the library.

At that time we thought the story could not be true.

The answer to the question is B. I want to know why we can't choose C?

By the way, "conjecture" is the same as "possibility" in modal verbs?
  

Top answer

C is "I thought you could like something to read". This means "I thought you would be able to like something to read". It doesn't make sense because it talks about one person ("I") thinking about (speculating about) another person ("you") having the ability to like something.

— CalifJim

  • C is "I thought you could like something to read".
  • This means "I thought you would be able to like something to read".
  • It doesn't make sense because it talks about one person ("I") thinking about (speculating about) another person ("you") having the ability to like something.
  • Why would I speculate on whether you have the ability to like something?
  • Everyone has the ability to like whatever they like.
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2 Answers
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C is "I thought you could like something to read".
This means "I thought you would be able to like something to read".
It doesn't make sense because it talks about one person ("I") thinking about (speculating about) another person ("you") having the ability to like something. Why would I speculate on whether you have the ability to like something? Everyone has the ability to like
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I'm not sure what you mean by "conjecture" and "possibility" with modal verbs, but in any case, the two are not the same. To conjecture, or to form a conjecture, is to surmise or to guess or to suppose. That's not the same as possibility, which is a potentiality.
CJ
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