can and could
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Can and Could
Can and could are modal verbs.They form sentences like this:
Can CouldAff I can read You could read
Neg He can’t write She couldn’t write
Int Can you swim? Could they swim?
“Could” is the past form of “can”.
We use “Can” to express abilities in the present. The things
someone can or knows how to do.For example:
“She can play the piano”She knows how to play or has the
ability to play the piano.
We use “Could” to express abilities in the past. The things someone could or
knew how to do in the past.For example:
“She couldn’t play the piano last year”She didn’t know how to play or didn’t have the ability to play the piano last
year. Now she can.
This is OliverHe is 17 years old
He lives in London
He can play the guitar, but he can’t play the piano.He can speak Spanish, but he can’t speak Russian.Can he play football? Yes, he can play very well.
This is Oliver againHe was 4 years old then
He lived in Cardiff
He couldn’t play the guitar, but he could swim.He couldn’t speak Spanish, but he could speak English.Could he play football? No, he couldn’t. But he could ride a bicycle.
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