Can in tenses

These verbs are followed by the infinitive without to. Linguapress English Grammar. Advanced level reading resources Intermediate reading resources English grammar online Language games and puzzles Linguapress English Grammar. Modal verbs — definitions Depending on which resource you consult, there are anything between eight and sixteen modal verbs in English, or even more.

So why the confusion? In short it is due to differences of opinion as to what a modal verb actually is; and grammatical description being an art, not a science, there is no definitive "right" answer to this. Modal verbs, or modal auxiliaries, are generally defined as being helper verbs which affect the meaning of a main verb, by adding a quality to the action, most commonly possibility, probability, obligation or recommendation , or futurity.

Common examples of verbs that match this definition are:. Can , like could and would , is used to ask a polite question, but can is only used to ask permission to do or say something "Can I borrow your car?

Could is the past tense of can , but it also has uses apart from that--and that is where the confusion lies. When could is used as the past tense of can , it refers to an ability that a person generally had in the past or to something that was generally possible in the past "When I was younger, I could run for miles," or "It used to be you could buy lunch for a dollar.

Like can , could can be used of possibility as well, but the connotation is slightly different. By contrast, when could is used in this way, it refers to something that you believe is likely to be true or to happen. Could is also used to refer to something that you wish to have or do but that is not possible "If only we could be free of this tyrant! Could can also express annoyance or another strong emotion "He could have asked me if I needed help! Would is a little easier to understand because it is not related to could or can , and its uses are more specific.

Would is used to talk about a possible situation that has not happened or that you are imagining "I would quit my job if I won the lottery.

Would can also be used to ask polite questions "Would you mind if I had another cup of tea? It has several distinct uses that can and could do not, however: it is used to give opinions "I wouldn't do that if I were you," or "I would say that she is in her 30s.

He always says that! Learner's Dictionary mobile search. We include be able to here for convenience. In this lesson we look at can , could and be able to , followed by a quiz to check your understanding. Can is an auxiliary verb, a modal auxiliary verb. We use can to:. We use can to talk about what is possible, what we are able or free to do:. Normally, we use can for the present. But it is possible to use can when we make present decisions about future ability.

We often use can in a question to ask somebody to do something. This is not a real question - we do not really want to know if the person is able to do something, we want them to do it! The use of can in this way is informal mainly between friends and family :. Note that we also use could, may, might for permission.

The use of can for permission is informal. Could is an auxiliary verb, a modal auxiliary verb.