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1). He was a popular singer back in the 90's. But I'm sure that he couldn’t fill a concert hall now.
2). He was a popular singer back in the 90's. But I'm sure that he can’t fill a concert hall now.
What is the difference in meaning between these two sentences? I know could is used for hypothetical cases. But what is the possible hypothetical case in the sentence1?
But what is the possible hypothetical case in the sentence1?
The hypothetical case in 1 is if he held a concert.
Sentence 2 assumes that he is in fact planning to hold a concert, or has recently tried and failed to do so.
Could (have the potential)
Can (have the ability)
- Couldn’t fill a concert hall (lack potential of filling a concert hall)
- Can't fill a concert hall (lack ability to fill a concert hall)
If 'couldn’t' is the past tense of 'can', then it means the same as #2
He can't fill a concert hall is an actual observation: either he has tried to, and it's been half empty, or he's used smaller venues and they have been adequate.
He couldn't fill a concert hall implies that it hasn't been tried: it's a hypothetical, and if he tried to, he would not succeed.
