Could have

  • B2 · Upper-intermediate
  • Grammar lesson
  • 60 min

could have + past participle for chances we missed and things that were possible but didn't happen: I could have bought that ticket. We could have won! The student reads about a man who almost bought the winning lottery ticket, sorts what happened from what only could have, and cheers up a friend who missed a big chance.

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could have calledcouldn't haveCould you have…?

What's in the lesson

  1. 1Warm-up
  2. 2In this lesson
  3. 3Reading: the ticket I didn't buyReading comprehension
  4. 4What does it mean?Grammar exercise
  5. 5Find could haveGrammar exercise
  6. 6could have + past participleGrammar rule
  7. 7Did it happen?Grammar exercise
  8. 8Which form?Grammar exercise
  9. 9What could they have done?Grammar exercise
  10. 10Questions for your teacherGrammar exercise
  11. 11Say it naturallySpeaking practice
  12. 12Cheer me upSpeaking practice
  13. 13About youGrammar exercise
  14. 14Wrap-up

Homework

  1. 1Homework: the concert you missedGrammar exercise
  2. 2Homework: find the mistakeGrammar exercise
  3. 3Homework: which sentence is correct?Grammar exercise
  4. 4Homework: a missed chanceDiscussion

Two slides from the lesson

Warm-up

A few questions about you before we start.

  1. Have you ever bought a lottery ticket or entered a prize draw? Did you win anything?
  2. Have you ever missed something by just a few minutes, like a bus, a sale or a concert?
  3. Is there a school, a job or a city you almost chose instead? What happened?

Grammar rule

could have + past participle

Example
PositiveI could have called you, but I didn't want to wake you. (Calling was possible, but I didn't.)
NegativeWe couldn't have stopped the flood. (It wasn't possible.)
QuestionCould I have said it more kindly?
Short formcould've (it sounds like "could-uv": never write could of)

When do we use it?

  • A chance we missed: something was possible, but it didn't happen. She could have moved to Paris, but she stayed near her family.
  • Something good or bad that was possible but didn't happen: That broken glass could have cut someone!
  • With if (the third conditional): If it hadn't rained, we could have eaten outside.
  • couldn't have: it was not possible, even if we had tried. It couldn't have gone better! (= it went perfectly) With without, it says something happened thanks to someone: We couldn't have moved that piano without Dad. (= we moved it, thanks to him)

Watch out

  • could + verb is a past ability: My old phone could only make calls. could have + past participle is a possibility that didn't happen: I could have swum to the shore, but I waited for the boat.
  • For something that really happened, say was able to or managed to: The hill was steep, but we were able to reach the top. (we could have reached the top means we didn't.)
  • After have, the past participle: could have went → could have gone; could have came → could have come.
  • could have can also be a guess about the past (Maybe he missed the bus: he could have missed it). That is a different meaning, for a later lesson.

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← Unit 1Will have been doing