Question
Updated on
23 May 2022
- Traditional Chinese (Taiwan)
-
English (US)
Question about English (US)
What is the difference between 1) Yesterday my son fell out of a tree. Luckily, he wasnât badly hurt, so I didnât have to take him to the hospital. and 2) Yesterday my son fell out of a tree. Luckily, he wasnât badly hurt, so I could take him to the hospital. ?Feel free to just provide example sentences.
What is the difference between 1) Yesterday my son fell out of a tree. Luckily, he wasnât badly hurt, so I didnât have to take him to the hospital. and 2) Yesterday my son fell out of a tree. Luckily, he wasnât badly hurt, so I could take him to the hospital. ?Feel free to just provide example sentences.
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- English (US)
Sentence 1 is correct. Sentence 2 does not make sense.
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- English (US)
#1 is correct
#2. âCouldâ is not used this way
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- Traditional Chinese (Taiwan)
@lrika I understand the #1 meaning, but in #2, I would like to emphasize that he wasnât badly hurt, so I could move his body and took him to hospital. I didnât have to call for 911 and had professionals moving him. If he got badly hurt, I couldnât move him, and took him to hospital. Donât native speakers say like #2? Just say like #1.
- Traditional Chinese (Taiwan)
@newenglandgenie If I want to use âcouldâ to make sense, how can I change the words to make sense.
- English (US)
Yesterday my son fell out of a tree. Luckily, he wasnât badly hurt, so I could take him to the hospital.?
Could is present tense so you have to change it.
Person A: My son has just fallen out of a tree. I donât think heâs badly hurt but could you please take him to the hospital to make sure?
Person B: Sure, Iâd be happy to.
OR
Yesterday my son fell out of a tree. I didnât have my car so I couldnât take him to the hospital.
Could is very difficult to fit into the idea of your sentence.
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- English (US)
Ah, I see.
I think you are trying to use âcouldâ in a structure like
I had a flat tire. Luckily, I had a spare so I could still drive home after I changed it.
One problem with your second sentence is that it does not make sense that you would take someone who is not badly hurt to a hospital. Usually, we assume that if someone is not badly hurt, they do not need to go to a hospital. If he is hurt enough to need a hospital, then he is badly hurt, unless you took him to a hospital to just make sure he was okay. I understand what you were trying to say with the second sentence now, but we usually do not assume with such specificity the state of being "badly hurt." (You are assuming that badly hurt means being so critically injured that he could not be moved.) So, unless your listener knew exactly what you were talking about, there is a gap in understanding.
You could say
He wasnât so badly hurt that I had to call an ambulance. I could take him to the hospital myself.
But it still sounds a little odd to me, because Iâm not sure the emphasis of these sentences would be on your ability to take him. (In the example sentences with the flat tire, the word âcouldâ throws the emphasis on the ability to get home, despite the flat tire.)
More natural would be
He wasnât so badly hurt that I had to call an ambulance for him. I just took him to the hospital myself.
I hope that makes sense,
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- Traditional Chinese (Taiwan)
@lrika Exactly! Thatâs what I meant. Yeah! I agree with your last example. It makes sense. But as you said âcouldâ is like of ability, so in the past, I was able to take him to the hospital. Thatâs my point.
Thank you so much:)
Thank you so much:)
- English (US)
Youâre welcome :)
Your English is very good, such that you are asking questions that we native speakers donât often think about in our usage. I think this is true in all languages. Often, native speakers will immediately know if a phrase is wrong but will have to think about it as to why.
I had to think about your question a bit so I could answer it. :)
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