compreension; rival and competator

[jiang]

Dear teachers,
I have two questions to ask:

1. I get confused by the words "rival" and "competitor"
To me the only difference is that the former can mean somebody who is not good while the latter doesn't. Could you please see if I can use "rival" in the following sentence?

The firm has better products than its competitors.

No.2
We aimed at the mastery of the wole Caribbean and don't think that because we are a little country we could not have succeeded.
I don't understand the tense "could have done". Could you please explain it to me?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.
Jiang

 

[David L.]

A competitor is a person who takes part in an athletic contest
The competitors in a race are then rivals because each of them has the same objective and wants to win the race and take home First Prize (Gold Medal)

A competitor can also be an organization or country that is engaged in commercial or economic competition with others.

The firm has better products than its competitors.
We cannot use 'rivals' here because it isn't stated what they are rivals for, what the objective is that they all want.

compare
The firms have long been rivals for the top share of the market in laundry detergent

 

[jiang]

Dear David,

Thank you very much for your explanation. Now I see.
Could you please kindly explain the second question?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

A competitor is a person who takes part in an athletic contest
The competitors in a race are then rivals because each of them has the same objective and wants to win the race and take home First Prize (Gold Medal)

A competitor can also be an organization or country that is engaged in commercial or economic competition with others.

The firm has better products than its competitors.
We cannot use 'rivals' here because it isn't stated what they are rivals for, what the objective is that they all want.

compare
The firms have long been rivals for the top share of the market in laundry detergent