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Today I came across the following phrase:

He couldn't have put it better, when he said: "..."

But why does it require perfect tense? Can it be replaced with simple tense instead?

He couldn't put it better, when he said: "..."

For me it sounds like these two actions (put and said) happened at the same point in the past (i.e. simple) - why perfect then?

herisson
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Hexus
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1 Answers1

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If your lecturer is standing over you and judging your work, then you might hear.

"I say, Hexus, that's good, I couldn't put it better myself."

But your example refers to the past. "He said..." in that case it has to be "...couldn't have put..."

"He couldn't have put it better, when he said: "...""

The page which @tchrist directs you to is excellent, and when you have a couple of hours to spare have a look. The analysis however is not aimed at those seeking a tidy, or a quick, solution.

Hugh
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    One quick question though, just to make sure I got it correctly: the phrase I asked about - does it mean that he couldn't have put it better before he said it? Like, he was trying to find proper words, but couldn't and then eventually he managed to find and express them? – Hexus Aug 07 '15 at 14:10
  • He got it right. "..." is the perfect phrase. All you can tell for certain is that it is (a) in the past, which may mean one second ago or several days ago; (b) he got it right; it may have jumped into his head or he may have sweated over the answer for hours. – Hugh Aug 07 '15 at 14:25