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What is grammatically wrong with this sentence?

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matt66 | 19:46 Tue 19th Dec 2006 | Phrases & Sayings
4 Answers
'I couldnt possibly answer that'. It is used a lot but somehow seems wrong to me. is it??
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Avatar Image Peter Pedant
oh, redundancy or tautology

could means to be able
and so does...possibly


don't lose sleep over this !

PP
20:04 Tue 19th Dec 2006
Avatar Image Lou Knee
well of course its wrong....by saying you couldnt possibly answer that is an answer in itself!!
20:44 Tue 19th Dec 2006
Avatar Image FoxLee
I disagree with Peter as the sentence says 'couldn't' - a negative alongside 'possibly' - a positive word. So rather than tautology, it's saying two opposite things.
21:50 Tue 19th Dec 2006
Avatar Image Quizmonster
There is nothing grammatically wrong with the sentence at all.
In the sentence above, I added the words 'at all' for emphasis. The basic meaning would remain the same if I had not added them.
Exactly the same applies to the word 'possibly' in the sentence you quote.
08:16 Wed 20th Dec 2006

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