Tenses: modal perfect tense?

[Mag]

Hi, teachers!
Pls tell me the tense in this sentence "Where could i have dropped these things?"
Also, can you explain this sentence to me. Thanks
Mag

[MikeNewYork]

Originally Posted by Mag

Hi, teachers!
Pls tell me the tense in this sentence "Where could i have dropped these things?"
Also, can you explain this sentence to me. Thanks
Mag

The person lost or dropped something and he/she is trying to figure out the possible places where that may have happened.

The tense is going to be arguable. Some call it the modal perfect. Others would call it the modal past. I suspect that some even call it the modal past perfect. It almost doesn't matter.