Translations for couldst in the English»Italian Dictionary

couldst [Am kʊdst]

couldst (2ª persona sing. pres.) arch → could

See also could

could [Brit kəd, kʊd, Am kʊd, kəd] VB mod Could is formally the past tense and the conditional of can. As the past tense of can, could is translated by the appropriate past tense in the indicative: I couldn't leave the children = non potevo lasciare i bambini/non potei lasciare i bambini; few people could read or write = poche persone sapevano leggere o scrivere; he couldn't sleep for weeks = non è riuscito a dormire per settimane; we could hear them laughing = li sentivamo ridere. When preceded by and dependent on a verb in the past tense, could + verb is translated by the past conditional of the appropriate Italian verb: I was sure you could do it = ero sicuro che saresti riuscito a farlo. In reported speech, could is translated by the appropriate past tense, according to the rules of Italian grammar (see…..): she never told us she could speak Chinese = non ci ha mai detto che sapeva parlare il cinese. - For more examples, particular usages and all other uses of; could see this entry.

1. could (expressing possibility):

it could be that…

potrebbe essere che

could be inf

forse

they could be dead

potrebbero essere morti

it could be a trap

potrebbe essere una trappola

I could be wrong

potrei sbagliarmi

this could be our most important match

potrebbe essere la nostra partita più importante

the engine could explode

il motore potrebbe esplodere

it could be seen as an insult

potrebbe essere considerato un insulto

it could be argued that …

si potrebbe sostenere che …

could it have something to do with the delay?

potrebbe avere a che fare con il ritardo?

you could have been electrocuted!

avresti potuto rimanere folgorato!

“did she know?” - “no, how could she?”

“lo sapeva?” - “no, come avrebbe potuto?”

nothing could be simpler

non c'è niente di più semplice

2. could (asking permission):

could I interrupt?

posso interromperla?

3. could (making polite requests):

could I speak to John?

potrei parlare con John?

could she spend the night with you?

potrebbe dormire da te?

you couldn't come earlier, could you?

non potresti arrivare prima, vero?

couldn't you give us another chance?

non potrebbe darci un'altra possibilità?

4. could (when making suggestions):

we could try and phone him

potremmo provare a telefonargli

couldn't they go camping instead?

non potrebbero invece andare in campeggio?

5. could (having ability or power to):

if only we could stay

se solo potessimo restare

I wish I could have been there

avrei voluto essere lì

I wish I could go to Japan

mi piacerebbe andare in Giappone

6. could (expressing likelihood, assumption):

he couldn't be more than 10 years old

non dovrebbe avere or non avrà più di 10 anni

7. could (expressing willingness to act):

I couldn't leave the children (wouldn't want to)

non potrei lasciare i bambini

8. could (expressing a reproach):

they could have warned us

avrebbero potuto avvertirci

you could at least say sorry!

potresti almeno chiedere scusa!

how could you!

come hai potuto!

9. could (expressing surprise):

who could it be?

chi potrebbe mai essere?

where could they have hidden it?

dove mai potrebbero averlo nascosto?

10. could (for emphasis):

I couldn't agree more!

d'accordissimo! or sono completamente d'accordo!

they couldn't have been nicer

non avrebbero potuto essere più gentili (di così)

you couldn't be more mistaken

ti sbagli di grosso

11. could (expressing exasperation):

I was so mad I could have screamed!

avrei potuto urlare tanto ero arrabbiato!

I could murder him! inf

l'ammazzerei!

12. could (avoiding repetition of verb):

as excited as could be

eccitatissimo