Q1 -- Yes, #4 is incorrect. You could use it in the negative (It can't have been Chris ... ) but not in the positive.
Q2 -- These don't mean the same thing.
It would have been Chris if he had been called.
This is not guessing; this is stating that Chris definitely would have been somewhere if he had been called to be there. (Context always helps!)
It could have been Chris.
This is guessing!
1. It must have been Chris.
2. It would have been Chris.
3. It could have been Chris.
4. It can have been Chrit.
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Thank you for your help.
Q1. #4 is incorrect. It's ungrammatical. Is that right?
Q2. Does # 2 mean a gueesing stronger than #3?
1 answer