Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[jays]

Can we say "She can have been sick" instead of "She could have been sick" to mean "She might have been sick"?
Or Can we say "She can be sick" instead of "She could be sick" to mean "She might be sick"?

[Sarraa]

1- ''She can have been sick'' can't be used as a sentence. ''She could have been sick'' is the correct one.
2- ''She can be sick'' can make sense, but not instead of ''She could be sick''. It seems to me that ''She can be sick'' gives the impression that she has the ability to be sick, and not that she might be sick in the future. So ''She could'' be sick is the appropriate phrase to use here.
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[myprofe]

I think that both can and could are correct in the following example.

John: I've lost my car keys.

Mary: They can/could be in your coat pocket.
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I'm never going to learn if you don't correct my mistakes!