Diamondrg  +  209606 Sat, 25 Mar 06 10:41 PM Which is correct? Is there anything wrong with the sentence? She ---- whatever cars she liked, but she usually preferred Hondas. A) had bought B) could buy C) is supposed to buy D) could have bought E) has bought Diamondrg Joined on Fri, Dec 2 2005 Contributing Member 1,043

	Clive  +  209615 Sat, 25 Mar 06 11:43 PM Hi, Which is correct? D. The whole thing is clearly set in the past. Is there anything wrong with the sentence? No She ---- whatever cars she liked, but she usually preferred Hondas. A) had bought B) could buy C) is supposed to buy D) could have bought E) has bought Best wishes, Clive Clive Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004 Canada Veteran Member 29,650 El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo

	Diamondrg  +  209619 Sat, 25 Mar 06 11:55 PM  Clive wrote: Hi, Which is correct? D. The whole thing is clearly set in the past. Is there anything wrong with the sentence? No She ---- whatever cars she liked, but she usually preferred Hondas. A) had bought B) could buy C) is supposed to buy D) could have bought E) has bought Best wishes, Clive Can't "B" express a general past ability in this sentence? For example, wouldn't B when inserted in the sentence mean "she could buy  whatever cars she liked [= she was rich enough to buy whatever cars she liked (a general past ability)], but she usually preferred Hondas. [= but she would buy Hondas (repeated actions in the past)]"? Then let me ask you which would be correct if I were to express ability in the past: a) She could buy whatever cars she liked. (do we know whether she bought any cars or not? Or does the sentence just say that she had a general past ability to buy cars?) b) She was able to buy whatever cars she liked. (here do we know whether she bought any cars or not?) Diamondrg

	Clive  +  209627 Sun, 26 Mar 06 12:42 AM Hi guys, I think these are certainly valid points. I still prefer D, because to me the sentence implies that she actually bought Hondas in the past, and the sense of the sentence is that at the times she bought them, she 'could have' bought another brand.   Possibly, I'm reading too much into the sentence. Would anyone argue that D is actually not acceptable? Best wishes, Clive Clive

	paco2004  +  209649 Sun, 26 Mar 06 03:40 AM I'd choose B. "Could have V-ed" implies the activity V was not realized. "She could have bought any kind of car (if she had wanted to), but she bought a motorbike" is OK. "She could have bought a Porsche (if she had wanted to), but she bought a Honda" is also OK. But "She could have bought any kind of car (if she had wanted to), but actually she chose a Honda" sounds somehow weird to me, because a Honda is a car. To me "She was so rich that she could buy any kind of car, but actually she chose a Honda" sounds more natural.    paco paco2004 Joined on Wed, Nov 17 2004 Senior Member 4,095 In Japan today even dogs are learning how to bow-wow in English.

	CalifJim  +  209701 Sun, 26 Mar 06 09:52 AM D is better than B, in my opinion. I don't have an adequate explanation, however.  It just seems to me that if B is used, the sentence should be as follows: She could buy whatever cars she liked, and she usually preferred Hondas. These seem natural: She could, and she did. She could have, but she didn't. This seems a little odd: She could, but she didn't. I want to say that some felicity condition is violated, but I don't know what it might be. CJ CalifJim Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004 California Veteran Member 22,445 "There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche

	paco2004  +  209702 Sun, 26 Mar 06 10:05 AM  CalifJim wrote: D is better than B, in my opinion. I don't have an adequate explanation, however.  It just seems to me that if B is used, the sentence should be as follows: She could buy whatever cars she liked, and she usually preferred Hondas. Somehow "She could buy whatever cars she liked, but she usually preferred Hondas" sounds natural to me. It may be because I have a feeling Honda's cars are rather economic. paco paco2004

	CalifJim  +  209703 Sun, 26 Mar 06 10:10 AM My assessment was not based on the type of car. Are you saying that you would prefer a different answer if the name of a very expensive car replaced Honda in that sentence? CJ CalifJim