Modals · CEFR B2 · Confident
could have / would have — English modal verbs
A possibility in the past that was never taken. Could have is an unused ability; might have is an unproven possibility.
The shape
could have / would have / might have + third form
Talk about what was possible but never happened.
In Hindi
बीते समय की वह संभावना जो कभी हुई नहीं। could have यानी कर सकते थे, might have यानी शायद हुआ हो।
CoCap explains every structure in both languages, because a rule you understand in Hindi is a rule you can use in English.
The mistake to fix first
The sentence Indian-English speakers actually produce, and the reason it is wrong.
| Commonly said | Correct English |
|---|---|
I could have call you, but I forgot. | I could have called you, but I forgot. After "have" the verb takes its third form. |
Learn these first
These come first. The rest of this makes more sense once they are automatic.
Easy to confuse with
Close enough to be mixed up with this one. Knowing the difference is most of knowing either.
- should have — the regretB2Say what you wish you had done
- Third conditionalB2Talk about how the past could have gone differently
Questions people ask
- What is the could have / would have used for?
- A possibility in the past that was never taken. Could have is an unused ability; might have is an unproven possibility. In practice: talk about what was possible but never happened.
- How do you form the could have / would have?
- could have / would have / might have + third form.
- What is the most common mistake with the could have / would have?
- Saying “I could have call you, but I forgot.” instead of “I could have called you, but I forgot.”. After "have" the verb takes its third form.
Where could have / would have fits
Where this structure sits in the ladder, and what surrounds it.
could have / would have is a CEFR B2 structure — the confident band — and it belongs to modals. CoCap’s syllabus files every structure this way so you can learn in order instead of jumping between whatever a search happened to return.
Reading it is not the same as saying it.
CoCap turns this page into practice: Hindi sentence in, English sentence out, corrected one thing at a time. Free, no card.
Practise the could have / would have →