How could I

Writer's Note

In the examples above, you can see that the sentences are formed with "How could I" + verb. But we can change the tone and meaning with "How could I have" + past participle. When using this formula it means that something was possible in the past, or you had the ability to do something in the past, but that you didn't do it.

1. How could I have written this book without you?
Como eu poderia ter escrito este livro sem você?
2. How could I have gotten home without you?
Como eu poderia ter chegado em casa sem você?
3. How could I have lost all this weight without your support?
Como eu poderia ter perdido todo esse peso sem o seu apoio?
4. How could I have received this award without your guidance?
Como eu poderia ter recebido este prêmio sem a sua orientação?
5. How could I have spelled your name incorrectly?
Como eu poderia ter escrito seu nome incorretamente?

Here's a tip or two about past participles.

1. Form past participles of regular verbs. Add "-ed" to the base form of the verb, or "-d" if the verb ends in "e". 
   For example: call👉called, dance👉danced, watch👉watched. 
Forme os particípios passados de verbos regulares. Adicione "-ed" à forma base do verbo, ou "-d" se o verbo terminar em "e".
Por exemplo: call👉called, dance👉danced, watch👉watched.
2. The past participle and simple past form are the same for regular verbs.
   For example: loved👉loved, listened👉listened, played👉played. 
O particípio passado e a forma do passado simples são iguais para os verbos regulares.
Por exemplo: loved👉loved, listened👉listened, played👉played. 
3. Pronunciations can differ for past participles ending in "-ed". The pronunciation depends on the last sound of the verb. 
As pronúncias podem variar para particípios passados terminados em "-ed". A pronúncia depende do último som do verbo.
4. Use past participles in tenses like present perfect, past perfect, future perfect, and conditional perfect.
   Present Perfect👉I have eaten (past participle: eaten)
   Past Perfect👉She had finished (past participle: finished)
   Future Perfect👉They will have completed (past participle: completed)
   Conditional Perfect👉If he had studied harder... (past participle: studied)
Use past participles in tenses like present perfect, past perfect, future perfect, and conditional perfect.
Presente Perfeito👉Eu tenho comido (particípio passado: comido)
Pretérito Mais-que-perfeito👉Ela tinha terminado (particípio passado: terminado)
Futuro Perfeito👉Eles terão completado (particípio passado: completado)
Condicional Perfeito👉Se ele tivesse estudado mais... (particípio passado: estudado)
5. Use past participles in the passive voice. Use the conjugated form of the verb "be" with the past participle. Structure would look like this; to be verb (was, were, is, are, etc.) + past participle.
   For example: The breaking news has been reported on various channels worldwide.
Use past participles in the passive voice. Use a forma conjugada do verbo «be» com o particípio passado. A estrutura ficaria assim; to be verb (was, were, is, are, etc.) + past participle.
Por exemplo: The breaking news has been reported on various channels worldwide.
6. Use past participles with auxiliary verbs. Precede the past tense verb with an auxiliary verb.
   For example: She has finished the dishes.
   For example: The kids had eaten before we arrived home.
Use past participles with auxiliary verbs. Preceda o verbo no passado com um verbo auxiliar.
Por exemplo: She has finished the dishes.
Por exemplo: The kids had eaten before we arrived home.