Not being able to

[rainous]

Not being able to catch a game against the Pittsburg Penguins during my trip there was one of the biggest regrets I have.

hi,

When you regret about things that you wish you could have done but didn't do,
is using "not being able to" grammatical in terms of the consistency of tenses?

[SoothingDave]

Why did you not go to a game? You would say you were "not able" if you were too busy with work or other obligations, or could not get tickets or some reason like that.

If you simply did not take advantage of the opportunity, then you were "able" to go to a game.

You would regret not actually catching a game.

Were you in Pittsburgh? Then you would have wanted to see a Penguins game. Not a game "against" them. Unless you were a fan of the visiting team and wanted to see your team play against the Penguins.

Finally, Pittsburgh has an "h" on the end. It is the only "burg" in the US that has an "h." The federal government took it away for a while in the early 20th Century (in the service of uniformity), but we complained so much that they gave it back.

[rainous]

If I couldn’t go to the game because I was busy with something else, how would you suggest I rewrite?


I was in some other town and the PP was a visiting team.

[SoothingDave]

Your original sentence is OK. Or say that "I wish I had had time to catch a game while I was there."

[5jj]

When you regret about things that you wish you could have done but didn't do, is using "not being able to" grammatical in terms of the consistency of tenses?

Yes. 'I regret (not) doing something' = 'I regret that I (did not do/) did it.

[Tdol]

Not being able to catch a game against the Pittsburg Penguins during my trip there was one of the biggest regrets I have.

hi,

When you regret about things that you wish you could have done but didn't do,
is using "not being able to" grammatical in terms of the consistency of tenses?

It's fine- you could also use not having been able, but it isn't necessary to do so and we tend to go for the simpler structure where both work.