Who owns this blue coat? It must be yours. B: It can’t be mine. It’s too big. Roy must have made a lot of money.
Bahasa Inggris SMP KK B
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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. 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.
Kegiatan Pembelajaran 1
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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. 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?