2. CAN
We use ‘can’ to express:
Ability: I can play chess.
Possibility: We can have lunch.
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7. CANNOT (CAN’T)
Can’t (cannot) is the negative form of can.
Ability: I can’t play chess.
Possibility: We can’t have lunch.
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12. CAN - QUESTION
Ability: Can you swim?
Ask for favour or permission: Can you help me? Can
I use your pen?
13. COULD – PAST FORM
We use ‘could’ to describe:
Ability in the past: I could run fast when I was young.
Possibility in the past: She could be tired.
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18. COULDN’T – PAST FORM
Couldn’t (could not) is the negative form of could.
Ability in the past: I couldn’t play the piano when I was
5.
Possibility in the past: It couldn’t be true.
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23. COULD - QUESTION
We use “could” to ask for something in the present in a
polite way:
Could you hold those books for me, please?
