tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869943374408609048.post3757969333710591491..comments2023-09-21T07:44:31.672-06:00Comments on English Skills Blog: PREVIOUS GRAMMAR QUESTIONVeronica Baighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14699213044999575738noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869943374408609048.post-63514521815049586082014-12-11T19:41:26.217-07:002014-12-11T19:41:26.217-07:00Oh, I see what you mean. I agree that it sounds ju...Oh, I see what you mean. I agree that it sounds just right to my ear as well. Unfortunately, given I'm not a native speaker, I tend to over-think myself and rely to much on the 'official rules'.Olena140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869943374408609048.post-87203069531316175162014-12-11T12:41:35.964-07:002014-12-11T12:41:35.964-07:00Thanks, Olena.
You wrote: "It seemed to me t...Thanks, Olena.<br /><br />You wrote: "It seemed to me that to get a result in the end, I couldn't have used 'could have + PP' in this sentence. (If they didn't get lost, and didn't go the wrong way, etc. then there is no 'unfortunate' result, right?)"<br /><br />I understand your thinking. And I can appreciate the uncertainty caused by the poor construction of the original sentence. <br /><br />But I don't think it was an accident that the writer said "could [have]". <br /><br />An English speaker will often say something like "You could've killed me [by] doing that!" <br /><br />The 'unfortunate' result is the confusion and risk.Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00158179989555947127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869943374408609048.post-14211272150052977522014-11-28T19:07:16.344-07:002014-11-28T19:07:16.344-07:00Hi Michael,
I posted my extended explanation here...Hi Michael,<br /><br />I posted my extended explanation here: https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2869943374408609048&postID=1007334207387280243<br /><br />Hope that clears it a bit.Olena140noreply@blogger.com