While showing my work to my adviser, he uttered a sentence, "You could do it better!".
Is it analogous to:
You could have done better
OR
You can do it better (so improve it)?
It seems to me this sentence can mean both of these.
-
I would think he meant both, at the same time, with emphasis on number 2. I can't think of someone saying "You could do it better!" while having a sense of finality (just the first number).– TyressCommented Aug 15, 2014 at 15:15
-
So after a failure in an exam, this sentence should not be used by a friend? Only 1st one is to be used?– JuliandotNutCommented Aug 22, 2014 at 18:37
-
2Dear negative voter! Thank you, you could do it better.– JuliandotNutCommented Nov 18, 2014 at 10:59
Add a comment
|
1 Answer
The meaning of the comment depends on the context in which it is made. If the adviser is reviewing a draft of a paper or some other type of preliminary work, and says "You could do it better," the clear implication is that you could improve the work in one or more ways before turning it in for grading; presumably the adviser will then tell you generally or specifically what those ways are.
Alternatively, if the adviser is reviewing an exam or paper that you don't have the opportunity to retake or rewrite, "You could do it better" might just be a (not very helpful) remark to the effect that you didn't do as well on the assignment as you could have if you had studied harder, consulted the adviser in a timely fashion, or been perfect in every way. As an after-the-fact observation, the comment is pretty useless unless you want to use it as a reference quotation for self-recrimination.
I should note, too, that "You could have done better" (without the "it") is sometimes used idiomatically in English to mean simply "This isn't up to the standard that you're capable of [or that I expect of you]." For example:
Person 1: Have you met my new girlfriend?
Person 2: Yes. You could have done better.
answered Nov 17, 2014 at 5:19
