Can we use couldn't to talk about present and past ?
Does the meaning change?
(A) I'm locked here and I couldn't open the door can you help me? (Present)
(B) yesterday I couldn't open the door so I broke it. (Past)
Are these sentences correct??
If yes , you mean we can use couldn't to talk about both past and present disability or impossibility??
How can we understand that it is about past or present if there was no time expression??
Best Answer
The sentence (A) isn't correct grammatically.
"I couldn't open the door" is in the past. As a matter of fact, you are locked in and unable to open the door at the present time. So the correct sentence should be:
I am locked in here and cannot open the door. Can you help me?
The second sentence (B), which is in the past, is correct grammatically. Could is the past of can.