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Bee air 561 Posted 7 years ago
Grammar

They could have been vs become?

Hi, everyone.

They could have been good wives.

They could have become good wives.

Can someone tell me the difference between the two sentences in terms of their implications.

Thanks!

  

Top answer

The two sentences have essentially the same meaning: They were not good wives, but they could have been good wives if they had tried to be good wives, or, if the circumstances were different. Note that the first sentence can also have another, unusual sense: They were acting like bad wives, but they could have been good wives just pretending to be bad. For example: A: Those three women at the party were terrible, badmouthing their husbands and acting crazy.

— Anonymous

  • The two sentences have essentially the same meaning: They were not good wives, but they could have been good wives if they had tried to be good wives, or, if the circumstances were different.
  • Note that the first sentence can also have another, unusual sense: They were acting like bad wives, but they could have been good wives just pretending to be bad.
  • For example: A: Those three women at the party were terrible, badmouthing their husbands and acting crazy.
  • B: It might have been all acting.
  • They could have been good wives just cutting loose at a party.
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2 Answers
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The two sentences have essentially the same meaning: They were not good wives, but they could have been good wives if they had tried to be good wives, or, if the circumstances were different.


Note that the first sentence can also have another, unusual sense: They were acting like bad wives, but they could have been good wives just pretending to be bad. For example:


A:

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bee air 561They could have been good wives.

1. Maybe there were good wives. (I don't know how good or bad they were.)
2. The had the power to become good wives.

bee air 561They could have become good wives.

1. Maybe they became good wives. (I don't know what happened to them.)
2. The had the power to bec

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