CAN / COULD
Present
|
I You We can They |
I You We cannot ( can’t) They |
I you Can we + Verb ? they |
|
He She can It |
He She cannot (can’t) It |
he Can she + Verb? it |
I can do something = I know how to do it, or it is possible for me to do it:
I can play the piano. My brother can play the piano too.
Sarah can speak Italian, but she can’t speak Spanish.
a: Can you swim?
b: Yes, but I’m not a very good swimmer.
a: Can you change twenty pounds?
b: I’m sorry, I can’t.
I’m having a party next week, but Paul and Rachel can’t come.
Past
|
I You We could They |
I You We could not ( couldn’t) They |
I you Could we + Verb ? they |
|
He She could It |
He She could not ( couldn’t) It |
he Could she + Verb? it |
When I was young, I could run very fast.
Before Maria came to Britain, she couldn’t understand much English. Now she can
understand everything.
I was tired last night, but I couldn’t sleep.
I had a party last week, but Paul and Rachel couldn’t come.
CAN / COULD FOR REQUESTS
Can you … ? Could you … ? Can I … ? Could I … ?
We use Can you … ? or Could you … ? when we ask people to do things:
Can you open the door, please? or Could you open the door, please?
Can you wait a moment, please? or Could you wait… ?
We use Can I have … ? or Can I g et… ? to ask for something:
Can I have a glass of water, please? or Can I get…?
Can I ? or Could I … ? = is it O K to do something?:
Can I sit here?
Tom, could I borrow your umbrella?