COULD: USES POSSIBILITY:
affirmative statements and questions We often use could to express possibility in the present and the future.
Compare:
Tabel 4 Certainty Modality It’s blue.
I am certain that it is blue. It’s a fact.
It could be blue. present
I’m not certain that it is blue.
The storm will get worse.
I’m certain that the storm will get worse.
The storm could get worse. future
I’m not certain that the storm will get worse.
In a conversation: A: Do you happen to know where Ann is?
B: Im not sure, but he could be at the library now. He could have been at the library yesterday
SUGGESTIONS Could
We often use phrases with could to make suggestions. Some are neutral, some are strong. The negative form, couldn’t, is stronger than the
affirmative form:
Strong
A: I only have three chairs. There will be four of us for dinner.
B: Couldn’t you use the one in your bedroom?
A: I need to finish this essay by tonight.
B: Couldn’t you get up early in the morning to finish it?
Modul Guru Pembelajar Bahasa Inggris Kelompok Kompetensi Profesional B
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Neutral
A: I have nothing to wear to the party.
B: You could wear your red dress and your black shoes.
A: We’ll need to have at least £300 for the concert tickets, the accommodation and the train.
B: We could cut lawns and wash cars and that kind of thing. Or we could
borrow the money from our parents and pay them back. We often use could to make suggestions:
A: Will’s party is fancy-dress. B: It’s Halloween.
C: Oh right. I could go as Julius Caesar.
B: Again? How many times have you done that? A: I’ve got to be in the meeting at 10 and the train doesn’t get in until
10.15.
B: Could you get an earlier train?
CAN’T YOU …? We can use can’t you to make a strong suggestion. It can sound very direct
when it is addressed to someone who is present: [mother to child]
Can’t you finish your homework before going?
[a woman is talking about her husband who wants a new television] A: I think our television is fine. I don’t want it to be replaced really.
B: Mm. A: And he’ll want one of those wide screens.
B: Oh dear. Can’t he manage with the one you have?
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Modul Guru Pembelajar Bahasa Inggris Kelompok Kompetensi Profesional B
PERMISSION We use could to ask for permission. Could is more formal and polite than
can:
Could I ask you a personal question? WARNING:
We don’t use could to give or refuse permission. We use can:
A: Could I leave early today?
B: Yes, you can.No, you can’t. Not: Yes, you could.No, you couldn’t.
COULD: PAST We don’t usually use could to talk about single events that happened in the
past. PAST ACHIEVEMENT
When actual past achievements are mentioned, we usually use waswere able to or managed to but not could in affirmative clauses. This is because
they are facts, rather than possibilities:
I was able tomanaged to buy a wonderful bag to match my shoes.
Not: I could buy a wonderful bag to match my shoes.
We hired a car and we were able tomanaged to drive 1,000 miles
in one week. Not: We hired a car and we could drive 1,000 miles in one week.
ABILITY
We use could to talk about past ability:
When I was young, I could easily touch my toes.
Could he drive when he was 15?
POSSIBILITY We use could have + -ed form to talk about possibility in the past:
I could have been a lawyer.
Modul Guru Pembelajar Bahasa Inggris Kelompok Kompetensi Profesional B
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They could have taken a taxi home instead of walking and getting
wet.
Janette couldn’t have done any better.
GUESSING AND PREDICTING: COULDN’T AS THE NEGATIVE OF MUST
When we want to guess or predict something, we use couldn’t as the negative form of must. We use couldn’t have + -ed form as the negative form
of must have + -ed. Couldn’t and couldn’t have + -ed form express strong possibility:
She must have made a mistake. It couldn’t be true.
A firework couldn’t have done all that damage.
COULD + SMELL, TASTE, THINK, BELIEVE, ETC. We use could to refer to single events that happened in the past, with verbs
of the senses smell, taste, see, hear, touch, etc. and mental processes think, believe, remember, understand etc.:
The food was terrible. I could taste nothing but salt.
We knew they were in there. We could hear voices inside.
He came and spoke to me, but I couldn’t remember his name.
REPORTING CAN We use could when reporting clauses with can as past events:
They told us we could wait in the hallway. The original words were
probably: ‘You can wait in the hallway.’
She said we could book the tickets online. The speaker remembers
hearing ‘You can book the tickets online.’ CRITICISM
We often use could have + -ed form to express disapproval or criticism:
You could have called to say you would be late. You didn’t call – I
think you should have called.
You could have tidied your room.
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Modul Guru Pembelajar Bahasa Inggris Kelompok Kompetensi Profesional B
REGRET We use could have + -ed form to talk about things that did not happen and
sometimes to expresses regret:
He could have been a doctor.
I could have been famous.
We often use the expression how could youshehethey? to show disapproval to show that we don’t like what someone has done:
Grandfather, how could you? How could you leave me?
How could you have gone without telling me?
In the conversation:
A: We had to give away our dog when we moved to England.
B: Oh, how could you?
