Could not have means that something was impossible in the past. To form the negative with these modals, use not between could and have. I could have been somebody-instead of a bum.” Listen to Marlon Brando in the classic film “On the Waterfront.” Brando’s character, Terry Malloy, was once a promising young boxer. Could have been usually gets contracted to could’ve been or even coulda’ been. Native speakers often do not pronounce their past tense modals as clearly as Tiffany. The singer is thinking about past possibilities with her lost love. Listen to this song by 1980s teen pop star Tiffany. I could have gone directly to college, but I decided to travel for a year. Could have means that something was possible in the past, but it did not happen. We’ll look at each of them using examples from movies and popular songs. He should have told the truth about what he saw.Įach of these modals has a slightly different meaning. I would have gone to the party, but I was tired. She could have gone to any college she wanted to. Use have for all pronouns never use has or had to form a past modal. To form these past modals, use could, would, or should followed by have, followed by a past participle verb.
Past modals tell what could have, would have, and should have happened. The simple past just tells what happened. These past tense modals are useful for expressing your present feelings about a past decision (or other action).Ĭould have, would have, and should have are sometimes called “modals of lost opportunities.” They work like a grammatical time machine. Today we will take a look at the modal verbs could have, would have and should have. I might come and visit you in America next year, if I can save enough money.From VOA Learning English, this is Everyday Grammar. When I was younger I could stay up all night and not get tired. He must be very tired after such enormous work I must stop when the traffic lights turn red. Students sometimes make mistakes with modal verbs: If the even referred to is in the past, use the appropriate grammar. Try to express the function in brackets by modifying the verb in brackets with the addition an appropriate modal verb. I remember my grandmother would always take a nap after lunch.The fire killed most of the disco-goers, but three were able to escape.I could do 300 pushups when I was eighteen.All civil servants in Hong Kong had to speak English prior to the handover.When you wish to express that somebody did something in a specific situation you use be able to. To express past ability can changes to could. To express strong obligation in the past must changes to had to. They would have won if they had had more energy. To refer to past events using modal verbs the following pattern is common:
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