Hello,
I have a question on the nuance of the bold phrase below:
“…I’m sorry to have to tell you. Sally had been working only part-time in the last few years because she was ill. She died five weeks ago.” But before I could hang up, she said, “Wait a minute. Did you say your name was Villiard?” “Yes” … (Information Please, by Paul Villiard)
The situation is that Villiard(=I) is hearing the news about his childhood mentor’s death. I wonder what nuance “could” creates here. What’s difference between “before I hung up” and “before I could hang up”? What do you think?
Thank you in advance,
sweetpumpkin
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It is just a figure of speech with idiomatic character. It means that the person wanted to end the conversation but could not because the other person said something important just before hanging up.
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Before I hung up
This is simply a time period.
Before I could hang up.
This means the person was attempting to hang up, or wanted to hang up, but was interrupted first. This might show impatience.
Before I had a chance to hang up.
Alternative to “Before I could hang up.”
The time period is the same in all three.
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To me, the situation looks as follows.
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Before I could hang up = Before I decided to hang up my phone. (I did not hang up the phone)
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Before I hung up = Before I really hung up my phone. (I hung up the phone later)
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