could have been
Tom pudo haber sido el primero si solo preguntara.
Tom could have been the first if only he had asked.
En cualquier caso, fuera lo que fuera, no pudo haber sido grave.
In any case, whatever it was, it couldn't have been serious.
— Cónclave (2024)
Pudo haber sido cualquier de nosotros.
It could have been any one of us.
Pudo haber sido Tom.
It could have been Tom.
Creo que pudo haber sido una buena persona.
I think he could have been a good person.
— Bacurau (2019)