Question
Hello.
Do you think it's possible to paraphrase the sentence "She had hardly sat down when the phone rang" into "She could harldy sit down when the phone rang"?
Thanks for all your help.
Do you think it's possible to paraphrase the sentence "She had hardly sat down when the phone rang" into "She could harldy sit down when the phone rang"?
Thanks for all your help.
Answers
Writeacher
No, "could" means that she might have been able to do something. It changes the meaning of the original sentence.
You could say, "She had just sat down when the phone rang."
You could say, "She had just sat down when the phone rang."