I Can Listen to This Agin and Again

• #1

Hi all, just now I heard someone say "I could listen to this song all day", right after the end of the song. Why did he use the past tense "could"? Shouldn't it be "can"? Because I suppose at that moment, he still can.

Many thanks!

• #3

If the song is playing on the radio and he doesn't have a copy of his own, he won't be able to listen to it all day – it's gone.

So if it were on say YouTube and he could replay it, then he would use "can" instead?

• #5

"I could listen to this song all day" is a statement of appreciation for the song. It doesn't mean he's going to actually do it. And to say, "I can listen to this song all day" is pretty obvious – it's right there on YouTube, so of course you can ... so why are you telling us?

I'm confused...in the context of the song being on YouTube, would it not make sense to say "I can"? I'd imagine that not everyone can, as not everyone likes it enough to listen to it all day. So the ability is current.

English tenses are so difficult to learn

• #6

can or could both are acceptable here. can means 100% sure and could means not 100% sure. I think copyright didn't understand the question.

• #7

can or could both are acceptable here. can means 100% sure and could means not 100% sure. I think copyright didn't understand the question.

I'm sorry, but this is not entirely correct. "Can" and "could" are both grammatically acceptable, and no one here has said otherwise. The meanings in the OP's context are the ones Copyright has described.

• #8

The meanings in the OP's context are the ones Copyright has described.

what is the meaning of ones? I know one

• #11

This is the correct answer, but why didn't post it at first?

I could liste...... YouTube).

• #12

There's an implied condition, which might be "...if I didn't have other things to do". It's exaggeration (hyperbole) of course.

If I said "I can listen to this song all day", I would mean that I often do listen to that song over and over, but not literally all day. Others might use can/could interchangeably, I don't know.

With "can", it means something like Even if I listen to this song all day, I don't get tired of it.
It's "ability" to listen (without getting tired of it), if you like.

Last edited: Oct 30, 2017

• #13

I could listen to this song all day – Appreciation: I like this song so much that I could listen to it over and over.
I can listen to this song all day – Ability: I have the ability to listen to this song all day (on YouTube, in this case), whether I like it or not.
I can listen to this song all day – Bragging: I can listen to this song all day (on YouTube) and you can't (because you don't have YouTube).

So using "could" here suggests imaginary situation, I guess? Just like how we say "I could do...if I were..."

• #14

This is the correct answer, but why didn't post it at first?

He was trying to help us. Please mind your tone...

• #16

It's like saying "I could eat a horse" to mean you are hungry.

It's just a way to say you are very hungry, just as "I could listen to this song all day" is a way of saying "I love this song; I never get tired of it."

Now I understand! Thank you everyone.

cardenaswores1980.blogspot.com

Source: https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/i-can-could-listen-to-this-song-all-day.3384816/

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