Or are they only to be used in the past tense?
2007-10-06 06:21:10 · 4 answers · asked by male in the USA 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
Yes they can both be used to indicate some future action or event.
This is most commonly associated with the verb "to do"
" I would change my personality if only I could."( do it )
This phrase states that "My choice will be to change my personality in the future if I am able to do that thing"
The same spelling would be used for these two words in a very similar phrase using the verb "To have" but refere to an event that has already passed.
"I would have changed my personality, if only I could have" ( done it)
I think the gramatical terms for the difference in the meaning is most easily understood by thinking of the first explanation being a projection of what might happen in the future if you took this action" I would change my personality...". The second example shows that the action was not taken and it occurred in the past." I would have changed my personality.."
2007-10-06 07:23:31 · answer #1 · answered by Will in Spain 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
All work I have done on grammar in recent years has been in other languages. So it was surprising to realize that English does not have a future tense stemming from the infinitive as latinate languages do. We use words such as will and shall along with the present tense to indicate the future.
"I will go to Paris, and while I am there I could visit the Louvre. That would be interesting." Sounds OK to me.
2007-10-06 14:35:42 · answer #2 · answered by picador 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think the future tense of could and would is can and will. As in, He can learn, if he will only apply himself.
2007-10-06 13:25:10 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
you can use it
we could have been way more rich by 2008
2007-10-06 14:24:07 · answer #4 · answered by 21 years 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋