Hi again, Paul!  This is a continuation of my previous message to you:   
      
   ak>  But in this case "can't" can be OK?   
      
   PQ>  I may need Ardith's assistance with this.  Ardith?  Help!   
      
      
            What bothered me at first was the lack of consistency in the choice   
   of verb tenses.  You & I feel more comfortable if the man says "It *was* the   
   third [xxx] I *couldn't* carry", using both verbs in the past tense.    
   Alexander seems to be more comfortable with "can't" than with "couldn't", so   
   he tries to remedy the problem by suggesting an alternative, "It's the third   
   [xxx] I can't carry."   
      
            Okay.  Now the verb tenses agree.  But my English-speaking brain   
   still isn't quite happy... and neither is yours.  I can tell because when you   
   suggest another alternative you revert to the past tense, i.e. "I wasn't   
   able".  To our Russian friends "couldn't" may sound rather tentative or   
   conditional, as indeed it is in sentences like "You could try xxx" or "If I   
   won a gazillion dollars in the Lotto 6/49 I could visit Paul & Alexander in   
   person".  Alexander is writing or translating a joke, meaning the delivery can   
   be adapted to his comfort level as well as that of his audience.  Rewording   
   the sentence a bit more:   
      
         No matter what I do, I can't get a pane of glass home in one piece.   
         #@%$!!  So much for my third attempt to.... [etc.].   
         Once again I have tried & failed to... [etc.].   
         I tried three times to... [etc.], but still couldn't manage it.   
      
      
            Or, considering your own awareness of body language & expanding on   
   the possible implications of the "comedy of errors" here:   
      
         So this gal thinks I'm a friendly drunk who wants to give her a big   
   hug?? A nice polite Canadian would be wearing a t-shirt saying "In your   
   dreams, Lover Boy!" or greet me with an icy stare or suddenly find urgent   
   business elsewhere. If she doesn't wear glasses in public because she believes   
   they spoil her looks   
   ... maybe she didn't see the position of my hands.  If she has experienced   
   some difficulty in past relationships with other guys & she's confusing me   
   with them   
   ... or if she's taken a few lessons in self-defense for females & she's   
   anxious to test her skill... how am I supposed to know what's doing on in the   
   life of a complete stranger???  I must consult another woman, or an ex-cop...   
   [wry grin].   
      
      
      
      
   --- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+   
    * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)