"I could": Indicative vs. Subjunctive Revisited
The English "could" can denote indicative or subjunctive moods. Here's how to tell the difference:
If could indicates something you might do in the future, it's subjunctive: "Ich könnte ein 'A' in diesem Kurs bekommen." If it indicates something you were or were not able to do in the past, it's just the past tense of "können," not subjunctive: "Ich konnte letztes Semester ein 'A' in meinem Deutschkurs bekommen" [no umlaut on "konnte"]. For what you could have done in the past (but didn't), you need past subjunctive ==> the double infinitive construction: Ich hätte ein 'A' bekommen können, wenn ich mehr gelernt hätte." More examples:
| Ich konnte schlafen | I could [was able to] sleep [==> I did sleep!] |
| Ich könnte schlafen | I could [would be able to] sleep [something I might be able to do now or in the future] |
| Ich hätte schlafen können | I could have slept [but didn't] |
| Ich konnte mein Fahrrad reparieren | I could [was able to] repair my bike [==> I did repair it!] |
| Ich könnte mein Fahrrad reparieren | I could [would be able to] repair my bike [something I might be able to do now or in the future] |
| Ich hätte mein Fahrrad reparieren können [quite rarely used] | I could have repaired my bike [but didn't] |
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