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Q&A Should I use "could be" or "could have been" in past-tense narration?

Examples: Using "could": I looked at the flyer again, and then back at Mark. Very strange---meeting someone who didn't see me as a weirdo. But could it be true? Could there be a club dedic...

1 answer  ·  posted 8y ago by Alexandro Chen‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question tenses narrative
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T04:40:43Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/19225
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar Alexandro Chen‭ · 2019-12-08T04:40:43Z (over 4 years ago)
Examples:

Using "could":

> I looked at the flyer again, and then back at Mark. Very strange---meeting someone who didn't see me as a weirdo. **But could it be true? Could there be a club dedicated to black magic?**

using "could have":

> I looked down at the glass table, an onset of tears stinging my eyes. **Could Tom's mother have been right? Could I have been the one responsible for his death?**

"Could" is the past of "can", but a the same time it can be used to indicate possibility (in the present tense). So, should I use "could be" or "could have been"?

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2015-10-05T07:25:55Z (over 8 years ago)
Original score: 1