[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"grammar-page-en-modals-cancould":3,"grammar-exercises-by-page-019b6f8f-d648-70f0-9f22-42fc1235803a":74},{"id":4,"title":5,"slug":6,"content":7,"language":8,"level":9,"displayOrder":10,"grammarTopics":11,"createdAt":68,"updatedAt":69,"generatorCategories":70,"readyImages":72,"ogImageUrl":73},"019b6f8f-d648-70f0-9f22-42fc1235803a","Modals - can\u002Fcould","modals-cancould","**In this lesson**, you will learn how to use **can** and **could** to talk about:\n\n* ability\n* permission\n* requests\n\n**Could** is often more polite than **can**.\n\n## 1\\. What Are Modal Verbs?\n\nModal verbs are **special verbs** that help us talk about:\n\n* ability\n* permission\n* requests\n\nImportant rules:\n\n* Modal verbs **do not change** (no -s for he \u002F she \u002F it)\n* They are followed by the **base verb**\n* They do **not** use *do \u002F does*\n\n✓ “She can swim.”\n✘ “She cans swim.”\n\n✓ “Can you help me?”\n✘ “Do you can help me?”\n\n## 2\\. CAN – Main Uses\n\n### 2.1 Ability\n\nUse **can** to talk about things you are able to do **now**.\n\n**Positive form**\n\n**Subject + can + base verb**\n\nExamples:\n\n* “I can swim.”\n* “She can drive.”\n* “They can speak English.”\n\n**Negative form**\n\n**Subject + cannot \u002F can't + base verb**\n\nExamples:\n\n* “I can’t swim.”\n* “She can’t drive.”\n* “They can't speak English.”\n\nShort answers for ability questions:\n\n* Yes → “Yes, I can.”\n* No → “No, I can’t.”\n\n### 2.2 Asking for Permission (Informal)\n\nUse **can** to **ask for permission** and also to **give permission** in everyday situations.\n\n**Question form**\n\n**Can + subject + base verb?**\n\nExamples (asking):\n\n* “Can I sit here?”\n* “Can we use your phone?”\n\nExamples (giving permission):\n\n* “Yes, you can.”\n* “Sure, you can.”\n\n### 2.3 Requests (Informal)\n\nUse **can** to **ask someone to do something**.\n\n**Question form**\n\n**Can + subject (you) + base verb?**\n\nExamples:\n\n* “Can you help me?”\n* “Can you repeat that, please?”\n\n**Can I... ?** = permission\n\n**Can you... ?** = request\n\n## 3\\. COULD – Main Uses\n\n### 3.1 Ability in the Past\n\nUse **could** to talk about general ability in the past. For example: “When I was five, I could swim.” We usually do not use **could** for one single successful action in the past.\n\nGeneral ability: “When I was five, I could swim.”\n\nOne successful action: “Yesterday, I managed to open the door.”\n\n**Positive form**\n\n**Subject + could + base verb**\n\nExamples:\n\n* “I could ride a bike when I was five.”\n* “She could read very early.”\n\n**Negative form**\n\n**Subject + could not \u002F couldn't + base verb**\n\nExamples:\n\n* “I couldn't ride a bike when I was five.”\n* “She couldn't read.”\n\n### 3.2 Polite Requests\n\nUse **could** to be more polite than *can*.\n\n**Question form**\n\n**Could + subject + base verb?**\n\nExamples:\n\n* “Could you help me, please?”\n* “Could you open the door?”\n\n(*More polite than “Can you…?”*)\n\n### 3.3 Asking for Permission Politely\n\nUse **could** to politely ask for permission.\n\n**Question form**\n\n**Could + subject + base verb?**\n\nExamples:\n\n* “Could I leave early today?”\n* “Could we sit here?”\n\nWe often use **could** to ask for permission, but we usually answer with **can**: “Could I leave early?” — “Yes, you can.”\n\n## 4\\. CAN vs COULD\n\nUse **can** when:\n\n* talking about ability now\n* being informal\n\nUse **could** when:\n\n* talking about ability in the past\n* being polite\n\nExamples:\n\n* “I can swim.” (ability now)\n* “I could swim when I was five.” (ability in the past)\n\n## 5\\. Easy Way to Remember\n\n* **Can** → ability now; common for permission and requests\n* **Could** → past ability; more polite for requests and asking permission","en","A2",41,[12],{"id":13,"name":14,"level":9,"language":8,"isCompleted":15,"completionPercentage":16,"totalExercises":17,"completedExercises":16,"vocabularyLists":18},"019aee86-c8ca-71af-b929-981d7cac5968","Can \u002F could (ability, possibility)",false,0,2,[19],{"id":20,"title":21,"grammarTopic":22,"displayOrder":23,"vocabularyListWords":24,"isPublished":39},"019bcc9a-6e0e-7484-af8a-ced6c8c9e281","Modals (Can\u002FCould)","\u002Fapi\u002Fgrammar_topics\u002F019aee86-c8ca-71af-b929-981d7cac5968",31,[25,51],{"id":26,"vocabularyWord":27,"displayOrder":16},"019bcc9a-6e0e-75e8-af8a-ced6c8cbc274",{"id":28,"word":29,"frequency":30,"level":31,"language":8,"audioFilePath":32,"partsOfSpeech":33,"audio":39,"audioUrl":50},"019b850c-a402-7aca-be1e-5bc68ed2432f","can",9,"A1","tts_3e0f83748dd26434_en-US.mp3",[34,41,46],{"id":35,"partOfSpeech":36,"definition":37,"exampleSentences":38,"isPrimary":39,"meaningOrder":40},"019b8518-d646-7a8f-a705-088eaf0f45d3","NOUN","A container, typically cylindrical, used for storing liquids or food.","I opened a can of soup for dinner.\nThe can was made of aluminum.",true,1,{"id":42,"partOfSpeech":43,"definition":44,"exampleSentences":45,"isPrimary":39,"meaningOrder":40},"019b8518-d647-7eef-9862-9680a8f1b269","VERB","To be able to; have the ability to.","I can swim very well.\nCan you help me with this problem?",{"id":47,"partOfSpeech":43,"definition":48,"exampleSentences":49,"isPrimary":15,"meaningOrder":17},"019b8518-d647-7f3b-9862-9680a9eff156","To preserve food in a sealed container.","We can vegetables to enjoy them all year.\nShe learned how to can fruit during the summer.","\u002Fuploads\u002Faudio\u002Ftts_3e0f83748dd26434_en-US.mp3",{"id":52,"vocabularyWord":53,"displayOrder":40},"019bcc9a-6e0e-7654-af8a-ced6c9563334",{"id":54,"word":55,"frequency":56,"level":9,"language":8,"audioFilePath":57,"partsOfSpeech":58,"audio":39,"audioUrl":67},"019b4697-700f-7a2c-b0bd-b172baecfda1","could",8,"tts_cde1db1c22a23eef_en-US.mp3",[59,63],{"id":60,"partOfSpeech":43,"definition":61,"exampleSentences":62,"isPrimary":39,"meaningOrder":40},"019b7eac-95eb-79cd-b74a-5fa6cd4ce047","Used to indicate possibility or ability in the past.","I could swim when I was five years old.\nShe could finish her homework if she started earlier.",{"id":64,"partOfSpeech":43,"definition":65,"exampleSentences":66,"isPrimary":15,"meaningOrder":17},"019b7eac-95eb-7a6d-b74a-5fa6ce42df57","Used to make polite requests or suggestions.","Could you please help me with this?\nWe could go to the park tomorrow.","\u002Fuploads\u002Faudio\u002Ftts_cde1db1c22a23eef_en-US.mp3","2025-12-30T14:00:56+00:00","2026-07-14T17:37:49+00:00",[71],"grammar_exercise_questions_modality",[],"\u002Fuploads\u002Fimages\u002Fog_019b6f8f-d648-70f0-9f22-42fc1235803a.jpg?v=1784050669",[75,82],{"@id":76,"@type":77,"id":78,"grammarPage":79,"title":80,"instructions":81,"displayOrder":16,"isCompleted":15},"\u002Fapi\u002Fgrammar_exercises\u002F019d2fb6-f427-7d77-a76b-3a0e3efe61ad","GrammarExercise","019d2fb6-f427-7d77-a76b-3a0e3efe61ad","\u002Fapi\u002Fgrammar_pages\u002F019b6f8f-d648-70f0-9f22-42fc1235803a","Travel Plans - Ability with Can\u002FCould","Fill in the blanks with the correct form using can or could. Click on each blank and choose the correct option from the dropdown menu. Some sentences may have more than one blank, so complete all of them.",{"@id":83,"@type":77,"id":84,"grammarPage":79,"title":85,"instructions":81,"displayOrder":40,"isCompleted":15},"\u002Fapi\u002Fgrammar_exercises\u002F019d2fb6-f428-7944-8923-698086d95a08","019d2fb6-f428-7944-8923-698086d95a08","Rules and Permission – Using Can\u002FCould"]