Learn English – It could be interesting = It had a chance to be!

modal-verbs

If I say:

It could be interesting

= "the thing had a chance to be interesting" — either was or wasn't interesting.

It could have been interesting

= "the thing could be interesting, but actually it wasn't."

And what about:

You could do it

= "I don't understand why you didn't do it."

"You could have done it"

= I don't understand why you didn't do it.

Which one is correct?

Best Answer

"It could be interesting" is an expression about a future event, not a past event. "Could be" is not the past tense of can. Could is a helping verb that indicates possibility and modifies "be", which is simple present tense. The past tense of this, as you know, is "could have been".

It could be interesting = It has a chance to be interesting.

It could have been interesting = It had the chance to be interesting, but it wasn't.

This works the same with other verbs:

You could do it = You have the chance or ability to do it.

You could have done it. = You had the chance / ability to do it, but you didn't.

Other examples:

You could have gone skiing with Jenny this weekend (if you'd only asked her)

You could have taken Spanish last term (instead of English).

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