could/would had accepted

[constantinos11]

hi,
i have 3 questions..

1)Once Tom had received Harriet’s letter in his hands he had an offer that he could accepted or rejected..is this correct or do i need to say he could had accepted or rejected

2) Can i say could had accepted? can i say i would had accepted it? i am a bit lost

3) what is the difference in the meaning beween it is in your hand and it is on your hands?
thanks for ur time

[Anglika]

I would rewrite it as a simpler sentence:

Once Tom had received Harriet's letter, he had an offer that he could either accept or reject.

It's not usual to add "in his hands" to "receive".

As to the difference between "It is in your hands" and "It is on your hands", it does depend on the context in which they are used. Both could be a simple physical description, or could be indicating resonsibility for action.

[Coffa]

Originally Posted by constantinos11

hi,
i have 3 questions..

1)Once Tom had received Harriet’s letter in his hands he had an offer that he could accepted or rejected..is this correct or do i need to say he could had accepted or rejected

2) Can i say could had accepted? can i say i would had accepted it? i am a bit lost

3) what is the difference in the meaning beween it is in your hand and it is on your hands?
thanks for ur time

'Could' is a modal auxiliary, and there are only four possible forms for a modal auxiliary in English:

1) Present simple - Modal + Infinitive - 'could accept'
2) Present continuous - Modal + be + present participle - 'could be accepting'
3) Perfect simple - Modal + have + past participle - 'could have accepted'
4) Perfect continuous - Modal + have been + present participle - 'could have been accepting'

So, your questions:

1) 'Had' is the perfect simple tense of 'to have', so you use the modal in the perfect simple form - "...that he could have accepted or rejected."

2) No, you can't. As above, 'could had' or 'would had' are not grammatical in English.

3) Something is 'in your hands' when you have possession of it. Something is 'on your hands' when it is a burden to you. For example:

"I do not want the responsibility of carrying out this order on my hands before I see the order in my hands."

[constantinos11]

thank u very much