he could have had $1,000.00 in his bank account

[EngLearner]

Today is June 1st. There's $0.00 in John's bank account. John receives $700.00 at the end of each month. Bill (John's boss) has just offered John the opportunity to work extra hours for additional money (i.e., if John accepts Bill's offer, there will be $1,000.00 in John's bank account at the end of the month). John doesn't accept Bill's offer. On June 2nd, Bill bumps into Bob and says the following to him:

1. If John had accepted my offer yesterday, then at the end of the month he could have had $1,000.00 in his bank account.

The above example is from this thread on wordreference. Please note that "the end of the month" is in the future at the time of speaking: John didn't accept the offer, and as a result, he won't have $1,000.00 at the end of the month. Do you agree that it should be "could have had $1,000.00", and not "could have $1,000.00"?

Now, let’s consider a slightly different scenario. Suppose today is July 1st. Bill (John's boss) knows that John has received his salary but hasn't withdrawn the money yet (meaning he currently has $700.00 in his bank account). Once again, Bill runs into Bob and says to him:

2. If John had accepted my offer on June 1st, he could have had $1,000.00 in his bank account now.

If we're talking about now, should it be "could have had $1,000.00" or "could have $1,000.00" in this counterfactual scenario?

 

[SoothingDave]

It's completely unnecessary to add the 00 cents to a dollar figure.

If cents are not specified, they are assumed to be zero, or of little consequence due to the small nature of fractions of a dollar.

 

[jutfrank]

Do you agree that it should be "could have had $1,000.00", and not "could have $1,000.00"?

Let me understand your question first. I think what you really mean to ask is what 'could have had' means in this context. I think you're thinking that 'could have had' must refer to a past time, and since the end of the month is a future time, then 'could have had' doesn't make sense, and that 'could have' is a way to express that future time. Is that right?

If we're talking about now, should it be "could have had $1,000.00" or "could have $1,000.00" in this counterfactual scenario?

No, 'could have had' is wrong here, because of the word 'now'.

 

[EngLearner]

Let me understand your question first. I think what you really mean to ask is what 'could have had' means in this context. I think you're thinking that 'could have had' must refer to a past time, and since the end of the month is a future time, then 'could have had' doesn't make sense, and that 'could have' is a way to express that future time. Is that right?

Yes, that's right.

 

[jutfrank]

Okay, I see.

The key to understanding this begins with making a distinction between real time and unreal time. The end of the month is real future time, yes, but it's unreal past time in sentence 1. In other words, you're imagining the result as having already happened. When you use these third conditionals, you're really imagining the world from a timeless, what I call 'purely logical' perspective. In other words, it's not really that the end of the month follows chronologically, what really matters is that having $700 follows logically from the condition of accepting the offer.

In sentence 2, since the speaker uses the word 'now' it's a clear indication that he's thinking of real present time, not unreal time, in which case 'could have had' doesn't work.

 

[EngLearner]

How about the following dialogue:

Bob: "John says he has $700 in his bank account."
Bill: "Well, he could have had $1,000 if he had accepted the offer I made him last month."

If the speaker is referring to the present but doesn't include the word "now" in the sentence, should they say "could have $1,000" or "could have had $1,000"?

My guess is that it should be "could have had $1,000."

 

[5jj]

In sentence 2, since the speaker uses the word 'now' it's a clear indication that he's thinking of real present time, not unreal time, in which case 'could have had' doesn't work.

I don't agree. The 'now' is the actual present, but the situation is counterfactual.

 

[jutfrank]

I don't agree. The 'now' is the actual present, but the situation is counterfactual.

Do you think that 'could have had' makes sense with 'now' at the end? If not, why not?

 

[5jj]

Do you think that 'could have had' makes sense with 'now' at the end?

I do.