English Language Learners Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for speakers of other languages learning English. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
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?
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
