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Anonymous Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
Verb tense get/got
I'm currently sharpening my verb tenses, and I read that verbs in a sentence should either be present or past, and one shouldn't mix tenses. I'm confused over this sentence:
It couldn't get any worse (could, past tense; get present tense).
Shouldn't it be "It couldn't got any worse."
Any advice? Thank you for your time.
It couldn't get any worse (could, past tense; get present tense).
Shouldn't it be "It couldn't got any worse."
Any advice? Thank you for your time.
Top answer
Anonymous It couldn't get any worse (could, past tense; get present tense). You are misinterpreting "get". It is the plain verb form found in dictionaries, and that's the form that is required after a modal verb (like could ).
- Anonymous It couldn't get any worse (could, past tense; get present tense).
- You are misinterpreting "get".
- It is the plain verb form found in dictionaries, and that's the form that is required after a modal verb (like could ).
- As a "plain form", it has no tense, so it is wrong to call it 'present tense'.
- Its tense depends on the preceding verb.
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1 Answers
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AnonymousIt couldn't get any worse (could, past tense; get present tense).You are misinterpreting "get". It is the plain verb form found in dictionaries, and that's the form that is required after a modal verb (like could). As a "plain form", it has no tense, so it is wrong to call it 'present tense'. Its tense depends on the preceding verb. The te
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