NC:
Let me point out, JTT, that the issue at hand was whether "can't" could be used instead of "couldn't", so I have simply gone through the tenses, to identify where it was or not permissible, as well as stressing the varying functions of "just" with respect to the tenses, which teachers often fail to explain.
JJT: I appreciate that this is what you"ve tried to do, NC.
Nonetheless, it is not common, at least in standard English, to say:
"I've just found out I can't have renewed my lease."
The use of "can't# doesn't quite hold here. It is better to say:
"I've just found out I couldn't have renewed my lease."
Thus, my stating that the use of "couldn't", here, as obligatory.
JTT: How common something is has nothing to do with its grammaticality or its acceptability, NC. The structure under discussion, is common enough in standard English that we know it is standard English.
Googling the phrase, "He can't have been" versus "He couldn't have been" yields an 854 to 38,200 usage ratio, respectively. All this points out is that most language situations do not need the "extreme" emotional aspects that a "can't have + PP" engenders. This is akin to the use of for asking permission versus . That is used much more often doesn't preclude the possibility of using .
The reason your sentence sounds rather strange is because it doesn't match up semantically to the situation. There aren't any grammatical reasons to exclude it and that was the issue. Here is a situation where it does work.
A: He renewed his lease with me yesterday.
B: I've just come across some info that tells me that he can't have renewed his lease as you say he did because he died five days ago.."
NC: As to my use of the perfect tense:
"I've just found out..."
Was to pinpoint that, there being no definite time association intended, it should be used in prference to:
"I just found out..."
That, being a past simple construction, should be associated with, or, complemented by a definite time in the past. Thank you for your comment, anyway, food for thought is food for a better understanding, which, I expect, is the objective of this forum.
JTT: That might be an excellent bit of theory, NC, but that's not one of the reasons that the present perfect is chosen by ENLs. I'm afraid that studies of actual language use just doesn't provide support for this theory. Nor do language sources unless you have some that I'm not aware of. If you do I'd love to see them.
I'd like to thank you for your comments too. There's nothing whatsoever wrong with disagreeing. How else can you get to the truth?
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