Would Have vs Could Have: Difference and Comparison

Verbs like โ€˜would haveโ€™ and โ€˜could haveโ€™ย areย modal verbs. So like other normal verbs, they do not have past forms. Hence, people can talk about the past by adding a past participle after โ€˜could haveโ€™ and โ€˜would haveโ€™ in a sentence.

They both almost mean the same thing, but their meanings would completely change if exchanged with each other in a sentence.

Key Takeaways

  1. Would have is used to describe something that did not happen in the past but was a possibility, while could have is used to describe something possible but did not happen in the past.
  2. Would have is used to express regret, disappointment, or a missed opportunity, while could have is used to express the potential for a different outcome.
  3. Would have is often used to speculate about what might have happened if different choices had been made, while could have is often used to describe a missed opportunity or a hypothetical scenario.

Would Have vs Could Have

โ€œCould haveโ€ is used to indicate the possibility that an event could occur in retrospect, but it didnโ€™t occur in real life. It also indicates the failure of a chance. โ€œWould haveโ€ represents the chances of occurrence of an event or a act in a imaginary situation that actually didnโ€™t happen.

Would Have vs Could Have


The expression โ€˜would haveโ€™ often is used to ascertain or express certainty in case of an event or happening. When a person wants to indicate and describe if a certain action happened certainly, then the outcome would have taken place by using would have.

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The expression โ€˜could haveโ€™ often denotes that something could have happened in the past if a specific thing was done, but a person didnโ€™t do it. Itโ€™s a modal of ability.

Comparison Table

Parameters of comparisonWould HaveCould Have
Meaningโ€˜Would haveโ€™ often is used in sentences when
we talk about a situation that we only imagine or of things that frequently happened in the past.
โ€˜Could haveโ€™ is mainly used to discuss possible actions or happenings in the present or the future.
SituationIt denotes a possible situationIt denotes an imaginary situation.
Usage โ€˜Would haveโ€™ is used to make the request offer and seek permission.โ€˜Could haveโ€™ is used in making
suggestions, requests, or seeking permission.
Tenseโ€˜Would haveโ€™ denotes possibility in a sentence.โ€˜Could haveโ€™ denotes certainty and ability in a sentence.
ExampleShe would attend the meeting if she were well.She could have finished her homework, but she chose not to.

What is Would Have?

โ€˜Would haveโ€™ is used when a person wants to show if someone wants to do something or not (volition). A person can also use โ€˜would haveโ€™ when talking about something they wanted but didnโ€™t.

The term โ€˜would haveโ€™ is used when something almost certain to happen in a normal course did not happen or something went wrong due to which it did not happen.

Example:
1. I would have eaten breakfast but got late for the office.
2. I would have done my homework but didnโ€™t understand anything.
3.ย Iย would have been late if the bus hadnโ€™t arrived on time.

โ€˜Would haveโ€™ is a possibility for an event to happen or not happen due to external forces. It is used to describe the ability of a sentence.

Regarding requests, we can use both โ€˜could haveโ€™ and โ€˜would have,โ€™ but โ€˜could haveโ€™ is more formal and polite than โ€˜would have.โ€™

While making polite requests, โ€˜could haveโ€™ is used with suggestions, indicating a possibility. On the contrary, โ€˜would haveโ€™ is used with offers or invites because it is more usual.

Whatย isย Could Have?

โ€˜Could haveโ€™ is used when a person wants to make a confident approximate guess about something that happened in the past. This is a modal of possibility.

In this case, the guess a person is making a statement may or may not be true. It is just a point of opinion that may have happened.

โ€˜Could haveโ€™ is an expression often used to describe or express the possibility of something that could have happened. It implies that when people use could have in a sentence, they are implying that there existed a possibility of something happening, but it did not.

Example:
1. You could have attended the party but decided not to.
2. I could have stayed up late, but I had my exam the next morning, so I decided to go to bed early.
3. He could have studied harder but was lazy enough, so he failed the exam.

โ€˜Could haveโ€™ denotes that something was possible with a fair possibility of fulfilling certain conditions. When people talk about the last use they could have, we refer to things they could have done in the past but chose not to or couldnโ€™t.

When people talk about possibility, it should be understood that when they say there was a possibility of something happening, the possibility of a thing not going down the way they want to be, is also considered.

Main Differences Between Would Have and Couldย Have

  1. โ€˜Would haveโ€™ is used to denote the possibility of something, whereas โ€˜could haveโ€™ is used to indicate certainty or ability of something.
  2. โ€˜Would haveโ€™ shows a personโ€™s desire to do something, but they could not, whereas โ€˜could haveโ€™ indicates that something was possible in the past but didnโ€™t happen.
  3. ย โ€˜Wouldย haveโ€™ is used as past tense action, whereas โ€˜could haveโ€™ describes past tense actions.
  4. ย โ€˜Wouldย haveโ€™ is used in a sentence to convey a desired tone. Whereas โ€˜could haveโ€™ is used to hold a manner of criticism.
  5. ย โ€˜Wouldย haveโ€™ in a sentence denotes a specific consequence of an unreal condition, whereas โ€˜could haveโ€™ in a particular sentence indicates a possible result of an actual situation.
References
  1. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00138383208596592
  2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0028393213000298
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