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Could is also used in unreal conditional ("if") sentences.
Conditional sentences
of this kind refer to situations that are
hypothetical,
impossible, contrary to fact--in other words,
to
unreal situations. In them, could is used
in place of can,
but the time is present
or future, not past.
Examples:
If I could solve this problem, I wouldn't need your help.
( = I need your help because
I can't solve this problem.)
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If Julia could afford to buy a car, she wouldn't have to
go
to work by bus.
( = Julia has to go to work
by bus because she can't afford
to buy a car.)
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If he could
start all over again, he'd do a better job.
( = He can't start all over
again, so he won't do as well
with the job as
he would like.)
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If she couldn't help you, she would tell you.
( = She won't tell you that
she can't help you because she can.)
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Special
Note:
In all the sentences above,
the time for both the "if" clause
and
the result clause is present or future, not past, because
in conditional sentences, a difference in tense (above,
past)
and time (above, present or future) is a
kind of "signal"
used to show that the
situations are hypothetical, contrary
to fact,
or impossible.
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