# I could go



## dioon89

Bueno me gustaría saber cuando could o como reconocer fácilmente cuando es pudiera o pude ejemplos : 


I could go to your party : 

Yo pude ir a tu fiesta 
Yo podría ir a tu fiesta  

 Veis a lo que me refiero hay algún modo de saberlo sin añadir algo que lo distinga ....  gracias por todo


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## Agró

Yo pude ir a tu fiesta: I was able to go to your party.
Yo podría ir a tu fiesta: I could go to your party.


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## inib

Agró said:


> Yo pude ir a tu fiesta: I was able to go to your party.
> Yo podría ir a tu fiesta: I could go to your party.


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## SavSabe

Both of the sentences you listed can translate into "I could go to your party." You won't know if "could" means "was able to" or is conditional without more context.

Yo pude ir a tu fiesta = I was able to go to your party. OR I could go to your party.
Yo podría ir a tu fiesta = I would be able to/might go to your party. OR I could go to your party.
If I understand your question correctly, you are asking if there is an easy way to tell the identical sentences apart in English. Refer to the context; that's really the only way. Hope this helps!


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## dioon89

yes it is thanks for your help guys


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## Aeqin

*Could *leads to confusion sometimes because of that ambiguity.

*I could go to your party- *I was able to and I did go to your party. Past tense.
*I could go to your party- *Me going to your party is a possibility that I may or may not be considering. Conditional tense.

Rely on the context to figure out which is being used. Almost always there is some sort of hint in the text that helps you figure it out. All you have to do is determine the tense: past or conditional. Here are some examples:

*"I could not do it, no matter how hard I tried." *
In this sentence, the use of *could *is uncertain until you see *tried*, the past tense form of *try*. The subject tried to do it and could not. This is the past tense. Therefore, it would roughly translate to *pude*.
*
"If money could buy happiness.."*
Immediately, you can tell that this translates to *podría *because of *if*. *If *introduces a conditional clause, and the conditional tense refers to a non-existent (but maybe possible) action or situation and its possible results. In this sentence, the speaker is imagining the outcome of money being able to buy happiness. 
*
"I knew you could do it!"
Knew*, the past tense form of *know*, indicates that this translates to *pude*. The speaker is expressing that they knew that *you *were able to do it (and *you *did do it).
*
"I know you could do it!"
Know *is present tense, so this translates to *podría*. The speaker is expressing that there is a possibility that *you *could do it.

Note: the conditional *could *can be with a verb of the present _or _future tense, while the past *could *can only be with a verb of the past tense.

If there is no kind of indicator to help you figure it out anywhere, don't worry; there is missing information and everyone else is just as confused as you are.


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## inib

Sorry, but my usage doesn't coincide perfectly with everything you say:



Aeqin said:


> *Could *leads to confusion sometimes because of that ambiguity.
> 
> *I could go to your party- *I was able to and I did go to your party. Past tense.(or, we don't know if I went, but at least I had the opportunity)
> *I could go to your party- *Me going to your party is a possibility that I may or may not be considering. Conditional tense.
> 
> Rely on the context to figure out which is being used. Almost always there is some sort of hint in the text that helps you figure it out. All you have to do is determine the tense: past or conditional. Here are some examples:
> 
> *"I could not do it, no matter how hard I tried." *
> In this sentence, the use of *could *is uncertain until you see *tried*, the past tense form of *try*. The subject tried to do it and could not. This is the past tense. Therefore, it would roughly translate to *pude*.
> *
> "If money could buy happiness.."*
> Immediately, you can tell that this translates to *podría (pudiera/pudiese) *because of *if*. *If *introduces a conditional clause, and the conditional tense refers to a non-existent (but maybe possible) action or situation and its possible results. In this sentence, the speaker is imagining the outcome of money being able to buy happiness.
> *
> "I knew you could do it!"
> Knew*, the past tense form of *know*, indicates that this translates to *pude (¿pudiste?/podías)*. The speaker is expressing that they knew that *you *were able to do it (and *you *did do it). (or, I knew you were capable of doing it, but I don't know if you ended up doing it. Or even, I knew you were capable of doing it and I'm surprised/disappointed that you didn't even give it a go)
> *
> "I know you could do it!"
> Know *is present tense, so this translates to *podría*. The speaker is expressing that there is a possibility that *you *could do it.
> 
> Note: the conditional *could *can be with a verb of the present _or _future tense, while the past *could *can only be with a verb of the past tense.
> 
> If there is no kind of indicator to help you figure it out anywhere, don't worry; there is missing information and everyone else is just as confused as you are.


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## IMD90

dioon89 said:


> Bueno me gustaría saber cuando could o como reconocer fácilmente cuando es pudiera o pude ejemplos :
> 
> 
> I could go to your party :
> 
> Yo pude ir a tu fiesta
> Yo podría ir a tu fiesta
> 
> Veis a lo que me refiero hay algún modo de saberlo sin añadir algo que lo distinga ....  gracias por todo


I could go to your party but I was ill.
I could go to your party If someone gives me a lift.


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## inib

Again, I can't quite agree.


IMD90 said:


> I could go to your party but I was ill. (I'm not sure what you mean here - I could have gone...?)
> I could go to your party If someone gives/gave me a lift.


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## IMD90

inib said:


> Again, I can't quite agree.


May I know why first and second which are your choices or alternatives.


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## sound shift

inib said:


> Again, I can't quite agree.


Neither can I. (Yo tampoco.)


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## IMD90

sound shift said:


> Neither can I. (Yo tampoco.)


May I know why?


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## sound shift

IMD90 said:


> May I know why?


Certainly. "I could go to your party but I was ill" makes no sense because we understand "could" as "podría".


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## IMD90

sound shift said:


> Certainly. "I could go to your party but I was ill" makes no sense because we understand "could" as "podría".


THank you. May I know how you translate 'PUDE' spanish simple past into English if 'could' is podría conditional or pospreterite?


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## sound shift

IMD90 said:


> THank you. May I know how you translate 'PUDE' spanish simple past into English if 'could' is podría conditional or pospreterite?


Can you give us the complete Spanish sentence, please?


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## IMD90

sound shift said:


> Can you give us the complete Spanish sentence, please?



*Yo pude/pudiera/podía ir a la fiesta pero estaba enfermo*
.
Do you agree with SavABE on this statement  US English:
"""
Both of the sentences you listed can translate into "I could go to your party." You won't know if "could" means "was able to" or is conditional without more context.

Yo pude ir a tu fiesta = I was able to go to your party. OR I could go to your party.
Yo podría ir a tu fiesta = I would be able to/might go to your party. OR I could go to your party.
If I understand your question correctly, you are asking if there is an easy way to tell the identical sentences apart in English. Refer to the context; that's really the only way. Hope this helps!"""""""


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## inib

sound shift said:


> Neither can I. (Yo tampoco.)


Sound shift answered you, IMD90,  but I'll also add a comment. Modal verbs are complicated in English but just as much in Spanish. I've heard "Pude hacerlo" meaning "Podía/podría haberlo hecho" (y no lo hice) or "Habría podido hacerlo". When I hear "pude hacerlo" without further context, I immediately think that it means "I was able and I *did *do it", but I admit it's open to other interpretations (even locally - in the whole Spanish-speaking world no doubt there are more variations).


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## sound shift

Even "I could have gone to your party but I was ill" ("podía/podría haberlo hecho (y no lo hice)" sounds a little odd to me:-

Does it mean "I definitely would have gone to your party if I had not been ill", or does it mean "I might (perhaps) have gone to your party if I had not been ill"?

If illness was the only thing that prevented you from going to the party, "I would have gone to your party if I hadn't been ill" covers the situation, but I don't see how _poder _can be part of the translation.


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## inib

sound shift said:


> Even "I could have gone to your party but I was ill" ("podía/podría haberlo hecho (y no lo hice)" sounds a little odd to me:-
> 
> Does it mean "I definitely would have gone to your party if I had not been ill", or does it mean "I might (perhaps) have gone to your party if I had not been ill"?
> 
> If illness was the only thing that prevented you from going to the party, "I would have gone to your party if I hadn't been ill" covers the situation, but I don't see how _poder _can be part of the translation.


I think you're quite right. I was trying to cover other possible contexts that hadn't ocurred to me yet and not be too radical, but it's WEIRD!


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## IMD90

inib said:


> Sound shift answered you, IMD90,  but I'll also add a comment. Modal verbs are complicated in English but just as much in Spanish. I've heard "Pude hacerlo" meaning "Podía/podría haberlo hecho" (y no lo hice) or "Habría podido hacerlo". When I hear "pude hacerlo" without further context, I immediately think that it means "I was able and I *did *do it", but I admit it's open to other interpretations (even locally - in the whole Spanish-speaking world no doubt there are more variations).


Sorry in Spanish Pude/podía/pudiera  fit into the past, podría is a past towards the future= podría.It is called hypothetical future.I* have not received *the explanation with 'could' I have read in many grammar books that could is the past of 'CAN'. He didn't comment about Sav-SABE statements. English US. *Yo pude ir a la fiesta pero estaba enfermo. Pude is a simple past in Spanish ( of course a MODAL too)*


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## inib

IMD90 said:


> Sorry in Spanish Pude/podía/pudiera  fit into the past, podría is a past towards the future= podría.It is called hypothetical future.I* have not received *the explanation with 'could' I have read in many grammar books that could is the past of 'CAN'. He didn't comment about Sav-SABE statements. English US. *Yo pude ir a la fiesta pero estaba enfermo. Pude is a simple past in Spanish ( of course a MODAL too)*


Good morning.
It's true that some grammar books and some teachers refer to _could_ as "the past of _can_". Others disagree with this definition. To me, it doesn't matter what we call it. The fact is that we have several different ways of expressing capability/possibility/opportunity etc in the past. It's not just always _could_.
I did actually give you a possible alternative in post #9 (but, as Sound Shift pointed out, it's not perfect. That might be because I am still not 100% sure what you mean with *Yo pude ir a la fiesta pero estaba enfermo. *You are implying that you *didn't* go to the party because you were ill, aren't you? If so, I can't see how the idea of "poder" fits in in English, unless we make it negative : _I could *not* go to the party *because* I was ill._)


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## IMD90

inib said:


> Good morning.
> It's true that some grammar books and some teachers refer to _could_ as "the past of _can_". Others disagree with this definition. To me, it doesn't matter what we call it. The fact is that we have several different ways of expressing capability/possibility/opportunity etc in the past. It's not just always _could_.
> I did actually give you a possible alternative in post #9 (but, as Sound Shift pointed out, it's not perfect. That might be because I am still not 100% sure what you mean with *Yo pude ir a la fiesta pero estaba enfermo. *You are implying that you *didn't* go to the party because you were ill, aren't you? If so, I can't see how the idea of "poder" fits in in English, unless we make it negative : _I could *not* go to the party *because* I was ill._)



Maybe if I explain you in Spanish it could be easier. 'Pude' es un pasado simple del modal 'poder' as you have in English 'CAN' and COULD, Yo pude leer el libro anoche pero no lo hice, last night I could read the book but I didn't read it, into the past PUDE keeps the capability and the possibility to perform an action but for any reason you can do it or not : Yo *pude *leer el libro anoche pero no lo hice , I could read the book last night but I didn't do it, in  Sapnish  and according to the grammar books I had read( they believe could is the past of can even the BBC does so) *This post is from SavSabe, US English *can you comment on it ? *<<<<
Both of the sentences you listed can translate into "I could go to your party." You won't know if "could" means "was able to" or is conditional without more context.*

*Yo pude ir a tu fiesta = I was able to go to your party. OR I could go to your party.*
*Yo podría ir a tu fiesta = I would be able to/might go to your party. OR I could go to your party.*
*If I understand your question correctly, you are asking if there is an easy way to tell the identical sentences apart in English. Refer to the context; that's really the only way. Hope this helps!>>>>>>> Have a good day.
*


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## sound shift

IMD90 said:


> last night I could read the book but I didn't read it
> I could read the book last night but I didn't do it


Lo que pasa es que ninguna de estas dos oraciones tiene sentido en el inglés. Por lo tanto, habría que buscar otras maneras de traducir "Yo pude leer el libro anoche pero no lo hice."


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## IMD90

sound shift said:


> Lo que pasa es que ninguna de estas dos oraciones tiene sentido en el inglés. Por lo tanto, habría que buscar otras maneras de traducir "Yo pude leer el libro anoche pero no lo hice."


You didn't comment about the post of SavSAbe, US English?


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## inib

IMD90, Nos estamos repitiendo un poco pero creo que nos perdonarás ya que insistes en la misma pregunta. Al igual que la frase sobre lo de no ir a la fiesta por estar enfermo, no decimos "I could read the book but I didn't". Espero que esta vez sound shift esté de acuerdo en que sí podríamos decir "I could have read the book but I didn't".
Quieres que comentemos sobre el mensaje de SavSabe:


> Yo pude ir a tu fiesta = I was able to go to your party. OR I could go to your party.


Así, a secas, yo no traduciría _yo pude ir a tu fiesta_ como _I_ _could go to your party_ y mucho menos si se intenta decir que tuve la oportunidad pero *no fui*. Sin embargo, no me atrevo a decir que SavSabe esté totalmente equivocado. No sé qué contexto/situación tenía en mente cuando afirmó eso y te repito que no es tan sencillo como decir que _could_ es pasado de _can_ y _pude_ es pasado de _poder_ y que por lo tanto son equivalentes exactos. ¡Ojalá!


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## sound shift

inib said:


> Espero que esta vez sound shift esté de acuerdo en que sí podríamos decir "I could have read the book but I didn't".


Si, estoy de acuerdo, inib. Le encuentro sentido a la frase.


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## sound shift

Creo que hay un malentendido, IMD90. No tengo nada en contra de las traducciones propuestas a continuación por SavSabe.





SavSabe said:


> Both of the sentences you listed can translate into "I could go to your party." You won't know if "could" means "was able to" or is conditional without more context.
> 
> Yo pude ir a tu fiesta = I was able to go to your party. OR I could go to your party.
> Yo podría ir a tu fiesta = I would be able to/might go to your party. OR I could go to your party.
> If I understand your question correctly, you are asking if there is an easy way to tell the identical sentences apart in English. Refer to the context; that's really the only way. Hope this helps!


En cambio, no le encuentro sentido a "I could go to your party, *but I was ill*". Es esto lo que buscaba decir.


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## Agró

*Could *and *Was/Were able to
*
Sometimes *could *is the past of *can*. We use could especially with these verbs:
*see, hear, smell, taste, feel, remember, understand (Obsérvese el limitado número de verbos y su pertenencia al grupo de verbos de percepción física o mental)*

-When we went into the house, we *could smell* burning.
-She spoke in a low voice but I *could understand *what she was saying.

We also use *could *to say that someone had the general ability to do something:

-My grandfather *could speak* five languages.
-When Tom was 16, he *could run* 100 metres in 11 seconds.

But if you mean that someone managed to do something in one particular situation, you have to use *was/were able to* (not *could*):

-The fire spread through the building very quickly but everyone *was able* (= managed) *to escape*. (_not _'could escape')
-They didn't want to come with us at first but in the end we *were able* (= managed) *to persuade* them. (_not _'could persuade')

Compare *could *and *was able to* in this example:

-Jack was an excellent tennis player. He *could *beat anybody. (= He had the ability to beat anybody.)
-But once he had a difficult game against Alf. Alf played very well but in the end Jack *was able to* beat him. (= He managed to beat him in this particular game.)

The negative *couldn't* is possible in all situations:

-My grandfather *couldn't swim*.
-We tried hard but we *couldn't persuade *them to come with us.

(Raymond Murphy, _English Grammar in Use_, Cambridge University Press, 1985)

*End of story, (espero).*


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## sound shift

Not end of story, Agró, because:-

"I could go to your party but I was ill." (suggested in post 8)
"I was able to go to your party but I was ill."

Neither of those sentences makes sense in American English or British English, so neither one works as a translation of "Yo pude ir a la fiesta pero estaba enfermo" (sentence from post 20).


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## Agró

IMD90 tendrá que explicar qué entiende él, tanto con

"I could go to your party but I was ill."
como con
"Yo pude ir a la fiesta pero estaba enfermo."

porque yo no entiendo ni una ni otra. No queda claro si fue a la fiesta o no.


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## Amapolas

Aquí hay cuestiones que se relacionan con usos regionales. 

Por ejemplo, cuando yo aprendía inglés (BrE) en los años 60, me enseñaron que para usar *can/not* en el pasado se decía *was/n't able to*. Y esto es lo que defienden nuestros amigos británicos en este hilo. 
Sin embargo, a lo largo de los años he oído muchas veces, seguramente en TV y películas americanas, el uso de *could* en pasado, como defiende Aeqin.

En cuanto al español, entiendo lo que pone IMD90 sobre *pude*: pude ir/leer, pero no lo hice. Sin embargo, en mi variedad de español, suena muy extraño. Acá diríamos "podría haber ido o leído".

Para mí es el típico caso de "yo digo papa, vos decís patata".


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## sound shift

Pensándolo otra vez, "I was able to go to your party but I was ill" podría tener el sentido de "Fui a tu fiesta aunque estaba enfermo", pero sigo sin encontrarle sentido a "I could go to your party but I was ill".


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## Amapolas

sound shift said:


> Pensándolo otra vez, "I was able to go to your party but I was ill" podría tener el sentido de "Fui a tu fiesta aunque estaba enfermo", pero sigo no encontrarle sentido a "I could go to your party but I was ill".


Quizás "I could/might've gone to your party but I was ill". ¿?


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## IMD90

Amapolas said:


> Aquí hay cuestiones que se relacionan con usos regionales.
> 
> Por ejemplo, cuando yo aprendía inglés (BrE) en los años 60, me enseñaron que para usar *can/not* en el pasado se decía *was/n't able to*. Y esto es lo que defienden nuestros amigos británicos en este hilo.
> Sin embargo, a lo largo de los años he oído muchas veces, seguramente en TV y películas americanas, el uso de *could* en pasado, como defiende Aeqin.
> 
> En cuanto al español, entiendo lo que pone IMD90 sobre *pude*: pude ir/leer, pero no lo hice. Sin embargo, en mi variedad de español, suena muy extraño. Acá diríamos "podría haber ido o leído".
> 
> Para mí es el típico caso de "yo digo papa, vos decís patata".


Valdría preguntarte cuál es el pasado simple de *PODER *en castellano? entonces, pues te suena extraño


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## Amapolas

IMD90 said:


> Valdría preguntarte cuál es el pasado simple de *PODER *en castellano? entonces, pues te suena extraño


Me suena inusual en ese contexto. Simplemente eso. Como dije, son usos distintos en regiones distintas.


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## IMD90

Los verbos *modales *en *CASTELLANO *son :
_poder, querer, saber, soler, necesitar, tener que, haber que, deber y la locución deber de_.
La conjugación del verbo PODER :
Yo PUDE
Tu Pudiste
El PUDO
Nosotros pudimos
Vosotros pudisteis, Latinoamérica Ustedes pudieron
Ellos PUDIERON.
Yo no pude convencerlo de ir a la fiesta o de que fuese a la fiesta
I couldn't persuade him to go to the party, aquí la traducción de COULDN'T = NO PUDE  simple past in Spanish
PODER en Inglés es CAN, yo puedo tocar guitarra o yo sé tocar guitarra
the past tense of can = Was/were able to do sth, and the meaning is that you did that. Here is the restriction of the use of this past tense for CAN , but could ( MODAL)is also the past of CAN in many grammar books.
Curious to say the least, we can say : I couldn't go to the party cuz I was sick, the translation into Spanish is Yo no pude ir a la fiesta pues estaba enfermo. Yo pude ir a la fiesta pero estaba enfermo (cold) in Spanish we keep the ability and the possibility to do one thing or the other , yo pude ir a la fiesta (I have a cold) pero no fui, yo pude comer carne pero soy vegetariana, yo pude viajar en avión pero lo hice por carro, yo pude viajar por avión pero no lo hice, In Spanish we can do  INTO THE PAST an action having the ability and the possibility= YO PUDE Y NO PUDE into the past. Yo pude (simple past) ir y PUDE NO IR
PODRÍA  (pospreterite) va del pasdo hacia el futuro, towards the FUTURE. I could go to the party tomorrow/tonight, conditional.But into the past  we can also say yo podía ir a la fiesta pero no fui, it is an IMPERFECT PAST  expressing that the possibility was extended into the past the speaker has in his MIND this extended possibility for some moments. In Spanish we can say clearly yo pude ir a la fiesta pero no fui ( estaba con un resfriado, quería estar solo, ver televisión) I could drive at night but I didn't do it. THAT IS THE CORE OF THE ISSUE.

Yo pude = I could . Simple past of the modal verb poder.
Yo pude haber ido= I could have gone It is a Modal+have +PP Perfect infinitive is for something before the main clause
Podría = Hypothetical future
Podía = Imperfect past ( extended past time)
Yo pudiera = Imperfect subjunctive with past, present and future connotations.


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## inib

Amapolas said:


> Quizás "I could/might've gone to your party but I was ill". ¿?


I tried that one in post #8


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## Amapolas

inib said:


> I tried that one in post #8


Yes, we're already swimming in circles here.


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## SevenDays

_I could drive at night, but I didn't do it.
I could read a book last night, but I didn't do it.
_
Como ya se ha dicho, estas construcciones en realidad no funcionan; algo lo rechaza. Y este "algo," en mi opinión, no es _sintaxis_ ("could" es atemporal y puede aparece en cualquier contexto de "tiempo"), sino _pragmática_. Para que aparezca el "*do*" de _didn't *do* it, _tiene que haber lo que se conoce en la pragmática como "salient information"; es decir información _prominente, destacada, sobreasaliente, *concreta*_, etc. Por ejemplo, se puede decir "Somebody killed a cat last night, but I didn't do it" ya que "killed" es un acto realizado, y por lo tanto concreto. En "I could drive" y "I could read" hay _potencialidad _y no algo que es "concreto". Sin embargo, "I could have driven last night, but I didn't (do it)" funciona, pues el _aspecto perfectivo_ de "could have driven" introduce la idea linguistica de "acto realizado" o "concreto" (en la mente del hablante). O sea, con "could have driven" ya hay _salient information_.


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## Bevj

Después de 39 _posts_ , habría sido muy útil si dioon89 hubiera vuelto con más contexto, explicando exactamente qué quería decir con 'I could go to your party'.
Pero me imagino que se ha asustado y largado


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## inib

Thanks, Seven Days, for that opinion. It's always fascinating to see why we say things the way we do.


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## Bevj

inib said:


> Thanks, Seven Days, for that opinion. It's always fascinating to see why we say things the way we do.




Totalmente de acuerdo


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## Aeqin

inib said:


> Sorry, but my usage doesn't coincide perfectly with everything you say:


I must be missing something then.


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## inib

Aeqin said:


> I must be missing something then.


No, I'm sure you're not but our usages probably differ a bit. Note that I didn't disagree with your statements. I just use the terms to cover a wider range of possibilities (and they would need further context to enable that).


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## Forero

Aeqin said:


> *...*
> *"I could not do it, no matter how hard I tried." *
> In this sentence, the use of *could *is uncertain until you see *tried*, the past tense form of *try*. The subject tried to do it and could not. This is the past tense. Therefore, it would roughly translate to *pude*.
> *...*


No estoy seguro en traducirla, pero esta frase es ambigua:

_No pude hacerlo, no importa cuánto me esforcé.
No podría hacerlo, no importa cuánto me esforzara._


sound shift said:


> Certainly. "I could go to your party but I was ill" makes no sense because we understand "could" as "podría".


It makes sense to me with either meaning of _could_ (_could_ = "was able to" or "would be able to"). Here is some possible context:

_My parents did not stop me. I could go to your party, but I was ill. I spent the whole weekend in bed._


SevenDays said:


> _I could drive at night, but I didn't do it.
> I could read a book last night, but I didn't do it.
> _
> Como ya se ha dicho, estas construcciones en realidad no funcionan.


Para mí sí funcionan, a pesar de la ambigüedad.
_
Could_ can mean "was able to" or "would be able to".


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## sound shift

Forero said:


> No estoy seguro en traducirla, pero esta frase es ambigua:
> 
> _No pude hacerlo, no importa cuánto me esforcé.
> No podría hacerlo, no importa cuánto me esforzara._It makes sense to me with either meaning of _could_ (_could_ = "was able to" or "would be able to"). Here is some possible context:
> 
> _My parents did not stop me. I could go to your party, but I was ill. I spent the whole weekend in bed._Para mí sí funcionan, a pesar de la ambigüedad.
> _
> Could_ can mean "was able to" or "would be able to".


The red text makes sense to me too, because the first sentence sets the context. On its own, as it was presented in post 8, the second red sentence still makes no sense to me.


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## Amapolas

sound shift said:


> The red text makes sense to me too, because the first sentence sets the context. On its own, as it was presented in post 8, the second red sentence still makes no sense to me.


On its own, the second sentence might make more sense, I believe, if we changed the tense of 'could go': _'I could have gone to your party but I was ill.'_ Does this make sense?


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## Forero

sound shift said:


> The red text makes sense to me too, because the first sentence sets the context. On its own, as it was presented in post 8, the second red sentence still makes no sense to me.


It is the same sentence, and context always matters, whether explicit or not.


Amapolas said:


> On its own, the second sentence might make more sense, I believe, if we changed the tense of 'could go': _'I could have gone to your party but I was ill.'_ Does this make sense?


"Could go" and "could have gone" are the same tense (either past or conditional), but the second one uses a perfect infinitive.

_Have_ adds to the context, but this sentence is ambiguous too. In fact, "I could have gone" might be referring to a time before he became ill and mean, in effect, "it had been possible for me to go". Since "could" can mean "was able to", "I could have gone" can mean "I was able to have gone", which says practically the same thing as "I had been able to go" and not "I was able to go". "Could go" as opposed to "could have gone" can mean "it was possible" but not "it had been possible".


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## dioon89

Thanks for your help guys !!! Aequin  it helped me a lot thanks


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