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Anonymous Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
Usage of "could"
"He said that we could make it."
"Could" is used for lower possibility or politeness or tense agreement?
Or all of them could be possible, depending on contexts? Thank you so much in advance.
"Could" is used for lower possibility or politeness or tense agreement?
Or all of them could be possible, depending on contexts? Thank you so much in advance.
Top answer
" Here, 'could' is the past of 'can' in reported speech.
- " Here, 'could' is the past of 'can' in reported speech.
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3 Answers
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"He said that we could make it."
Here, 'could' is the past of 'can' in reported speech.
Here, 'could' is the past of 'can' in reported speech.
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"What you said is that they lied / lie to me?"
Should we agree the verb tense, "lie" in -that clause with the verb tense, "said" or "is"?
"What you said is that they lied to me?"
"What you said is that they lie to me?"
Or regardless of verb tenses, each of the sentence has each differen
Should we agree the verb tense, "lie" in -that clause with the verb tense, "said" or "is"?
"What you said is that they lied to me?"
"What you said is that they lie to me?"
Or regardless of verb tenses, each of the sentence has each differen
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"What you said is that they lied / lie to me?"
Should we agree the verb tense, "lie" in -that clause with the verb tense, "said" or "is"?-- If they still lie now, use 'lie'. If they lied only in the past, use 'lied'.
And don't forget this option:
What you said was that they lied / lie to me?"-- In this case, you can use 'lie' or 'lied'
Should we agree the verb tense, "lie" in -that clause with the verb tense, "said" or "is"?-- If they still lie now, use 'lie'. If they lied only in the past, use 'lied'.
And don't forget this option:
What you said was that they lied / lie to me?"-- In this case, you can use 'lie' or 'lied'
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