Do they mean the same thing?

[Kristine May]

Venus said Gab had just used her then. Gab told her she could say THAT.


or should it be

Gab told her he probably did.

Do the two sentences mean the same thing?

Thanks!

[azcl]

***Not a teacher***

Venus said Gab had just used her then. Gab told her she could say THAT.


or should it be

Gab told her he probably did.

Do the two sentences mean the same thing?

As written, the two sentences do not mean the same thing.

'Gab told her she could say that', reads as if Gab is giving her permission to say it (which I don't think is what you are trying to say).

'Gab told her he probably did' is obviously Gab considering his previous behaviour and his assessment is that in all likelihood, he did use her.

Going back to the first sentence though, I think you may be reporting the following:

Venus: "You have just used me then"
Gab: "You could say that"

When saying "You could say that" in this kind of context, depending on the way it is said, it can mean a couple of different things. Firstly, it could mean "I think in the light of the evidence, it would be fair for you to make that statement". The second possible meaning is used quite often in speach and is ironic - "You could say that" can actually mean "That is certainly the case!"

For example, if you had been sold a car which then broke down a week later and cost a vast amount to fix, in a conversation with a friend, you might say:

Statement: "I don't think that car was a very good buy"
Response: "You could say that" (in other words "It certainly wasn't")


So I wonder if what you are trying to express in your first sentence is:

Venus said Gab had just used her then. Gab replied "You could say that".

This meaning is lost when reported using: "Gab said she could say that".


Ade

[Kristine May]

Thank you very much! What I mean by "You could say that" is reflected by the first meaning you gave. The context of the sentence is Gab professed his love for Venus thinking that he really loves her but took it back when they broke up saying that he only sees Ella in her who looks so much like her. "You could say that" meaning "Perhaps you are right. Maybe I just used you then".

How do I report the direct speech 'Gab said, "You could say that"' to mean the above explanation? Thanks!

[5jj]

How do I report the direct speech 'Gab said, "You could say that"' to mean the above explanation? Thanks!

I suggested, in another thread:

Gab admitted that he (probably) had.