(Photo by Marco Belluci)
Modal verbs are one of the most frustrating parts of English grammar. One modal verb can have many different meanings, and it’s difficult trying to remember all those meanings. In this article, you’ll learn one use of the modal verb could.
In the listening lesson “The Heroic Dog!”, I talked about a dog I encountered before I went for a walk around my neighbourhood. I had never seen this dog before and I didn’t know anything about him or his situation. I said:
He could have been far from home and he could have been wandering the streets for days without food or water
I had no knowledge of this dog, so I was guessing things about him.
1. The modal verb could is used to guess things about someone or something when we know nothing about them:
Don’t make fun of Maria for putting on weight! She could be pregnant, not fat!
Does she know anything about her new boyfriend? He could be dangerous! He could be married! He could have 10 kids!
Don’t open the door! There could be a serial killer at the door!
I’m nervous about sharing a room with someone I don’t know anything about. She could talk in her sleep. She could snore. She could have strange friends!
2. Could can also be used with the perfect tense to speculate about something that began earlier, even though we have no knowledge about it:
could have been wandering for days without food or water.
I don’t know why Kevin is so angry. He could have been fired from his job, he could have been robbed, he could have lost his dog …
NOTES:
*Using could to guess something is different than using may or might. When you use may or might to talk about possibility, you have some knowledge and use that knowledge to say what is or isn’t possible. Could is used when you have NO knowledge!
*Could not is NOT used for guessing.
Melanie is a TESL-certified English teacher. She lives near Toronto, Canada. Through her blog, videos, podcasts, and social media, she helps thousands of people around the world improve their English. She makes English a little less confusing and a little more fun! She also helps people understand Canadian and American culture. She believes that natural interaction with a native speaker helps people practice what they have learned and builds their confidence with English!
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
dear madam,
i am from india and have been working in USA. first time today i opened your website and it really so much helpful to me. i need to know usage of should have been. if possible can you please explain to me.
srinivasa yannam
Hello Srinivasa,
‘Should have been’ is the present perfect tense of ‘should be’
It is usually used ‘should have been’ + adjective, and is usually used to tell someone they should have done things differently, or tell someone what the right thing to do:
You should have been more careful.
You should have been honest.
You shouldn’t have been so slow.
= )
dear madam,
now i understand how to use “should have been”. thank you so much for your detailed explanation. god bless you.
srinivasa r yannam
Dear Teacher Malanie,
Now i understand how to use “should have been”. thank you so much for your detailed explanation. god bless you.
Srinivasa R. Yannam