Are they imagined reactions? If not, how do you interpret them? 1. There were thirty-one, some so wide that she _could have_ used them for a bed. (There were 31 wood stumps) 2. His back ached so abominably from the walking that he _would have_ liked to lean up against one of the carved wooden pillars that supported the roof, Hi. I once asked questions about "might have" and know that this pattern can express the idea of "imagined reaction". Now I come across these two examples. I am wondering if the "could have" and "would have" here also express the idea of "imagined reaction": In 1 the author is imagining her reaction, in 2 the author is imagining his reaction. And by "imagined reaction", I mean sentence like "This was so wrong he _might have_ laughed". Are the two examples here similar to the laugh example enough that we can call the two examples "imagined reaction"? Thank you in advance!