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Can is invariable. There is only one form of can. The main verb is…
Can is invariable. There is only one form of can.
The main verb is always the bare infinitive
Could: Requests
We often use could in a question to ask somebody to do something. The use of could in this
way is fairly polite (formal):
Could you tell me where the bank is, please?
Could you send me a catalogue, please?
I can pay my taxes.
Expresses ability. I have the means (funds) to pay.
May
I may go to New York. (to indicate possibility) May
I help you? (to ask permission)
The highlighted word in each of the following sentences is a modal auxiliary:
Example:
Zora was pleased to learn that she could take several days off.
The small freckled girl told her neighbors thatshe would walk their dog for an appropriate
fee.
Henry told Eliza that she ought to have the hole in the bucket fixed.
The principal told the assembled students that the school board might introduce a
dress code next autumn.
According to the instructions, we must leave this goo in our hair for twenty minutes
Could is an auxiliary verb, a modal auxiliary verb. We use could to:
talk about past possibility or ability
make requests
Use of Could
Could: Past Possibility or Ability
We use could to talk about what was possible in the past, what we were able or free
to do:
I could swim when I was 5 years old.
My grandmother could speak seven languages.
When we arrived home, we could not open the door.
Could you understand what he was saying
Past
General Specific Occasion
+
My grandmother could speak
Spanish.
A man fell into the river yesterday. The police
were able to save him.
-
My grandmother couldn't
speak Spanish.
A man fell into the river yesterday. The police
couldn't save him