Use of the modal verb can. Modal verb can

Everything you need to know about the modal verb 'Can':

— translation, transcription and pronunciation;
- features of the modal verb;
— ‘Can’ in the present, past and future;
- ‘Can’ in negative and interrogative form;
- use of the verb 'Can' - rules and examples;

Modal verb‘Can’ is translated into Russian: I can, I can, I can handle it, it’s possible.

Transcription: 'Can' - .
In sentences, the sound 'a' is swallowed and pronounced as - kn - kn.

Pronunciation of 'Can'

Features of the modal verb 'Can'

1. There is no particle - to - between the verb 'can' and another verb

He can go shopping tomorrow. X

2. There is no ending - s - at the end of the verb 'can'

He can't go shopping tomorrow. X
He can go shopping tomorrow. Correct option.

3. At the end of the second verb, the ending -s- is also not placed.

He can go shopping tomorrow. X
He can go shopping tomorrow. Correct option.

4. The ing form is not used.

He can't swim. X
He can swim. Correct option.

5. Not used in the future tense with the auxiliary verb will.

I will can help you. X
I can help you. Correct option.

6. The interrogative form is formed without an auxiliary verb - Do -

Do you can walk? X
Can you walk? Correct option.

7. The negative form is formed using the particle not, it is placed after the modal verb.

She does not sing. X
She can't sing. Correct option.

Forms of the verb 'Can' - present, future and past tense

PRESENT - I can walk. I can walk.
PAST - I could walk. I could walk.
FUTURE - I will be able to walk. I'll be able to walk.

'Can' in negative form

Can’t - can’t - I can’t.
You can’t - you can’t.
She/he can’t - she/he cannot.
They/we/ - they/we cannot.

I can't believe it. I can not believe.
He can't stay long. He can't stay long.
She can't jump. She can't jump.

'Can' in interrogative form

Can I ask you? Can I ask you? Can I ask you something?
Can she write me? Can she text me? Can she write to you?
Can he meet me? Can he meet me?

Use of the verb 'Can'

1. When we have the skill/ability to do something:

I can drive a car. I can drive a car.
He can't speak Japanese. He can't speak Japanese.
Can you cook? Can you cook?

2. When to ask permission:

Can I go for a walk? Can I go for a walk?
Can I come in? Can I come in?
Can I come today? Can I come today?

3. When to ask for something:

Can I have some more coffee? Can I get some more coffee?
Can I use your tablet? Can I use your tablet?
Can you call me back? Can you call me back?
Can you send me your photo? Can you send me your picture?

4. When to get permission:

You can take this bike. You can take this bicycle.
You can do what you want. You can do whatever you like.

Sentences with Can + be construction

Yes, it can be confusing.
Yes, it can be confusing.

English can be strange.
English can be strange.

This can't be true.
It can not be true.

This can be real.
This could be real.

The world can be better.
The world could be a better place.

I can be a super friend.
I can be a very good friend.

Often verb Can causes controversy over whether it is a regular or irregular verb. It cannot be completely classified as “incorrect,” but it cannot be called correct either, because at all times it has its own form. We remember that irregular verbs in English are special words in English, which have their own form for the past tense. Can - irregular verb or correct English?

However, Can is a modal verb and also acts as an auxiliary verb in some cases. What are English modal verbs? These words (Modal Verbs) differ from other verbs in that they do not denote actions or states, but only convey the speaker’s attitude to the action, which is expressed by the initial form (infinitive) of the verb. In combination with this infinitive, Modal Verbs form a complex verbal modal predicate.

Modal verbs are May, Must, Ought to, Should, etc. AND Can- one of them.

The verb we are considering means “to be able to, to be able to, to be able to, to be capable.” Eg:

• My father can play chess - My father can play chess.
• Can can you help me? - You can help me?
• I c an help you right now. - I Can(able, able) to help you right now.

This modal verb has the following grammatical forms depending on the time in which it is used:

• Past Simple: Could

I could not call you, because I was busy.- I couldn’t call you because I was busy.
Tom couldn’t come to us, because he caught a cold. Tom couldn’t come to us because he had a cold.

• Present Simple: Can

I can talk to him if you want. - I can talk to him if you want.
Can you come to me right now? -Can you come to me right now?

• Future Simple: Will be able

Tom will be able to help you if you ask him for it. - Tom will be able (will be able) to help you if you ask him about it.
Will you be able to finish that work till tomorrow? -Can you finish this work by tomorrow?

Negative form looks like this: Cannot (can"t), Could not (couldn"t), Won’t be able:

• I cannot find his telephone number. — I can't find his phone number.
• Alex could not answer the call, because he wasn’t in the room. — Alex couldn’t answer the call because he wasn’t in the room.
• He won’t be able to help us, because he’ll be absent. “He won’t be able to help us because he’ll be away.”

Interrogative form: Can I? Could I? Will I be able?

• Can you show me the way to the forest? -Can you show me the way to the forest?
• Could I help you with your task yesterday? — Could I help you with the task yesterday?
• Will you be able to come to my party on Friday? -Can you come to my party on Friday?

And finally interrogative-negative form: Can I not (can"t I)?, Could I not (couldn"t I)? Won't I be able?

• Can't you listen to me? - Could you listen to me?
• Couldn't Tom know that? “Couldn’t Tom have known about this?”
• Won’t you be able to help me with this? -Can you help me with this?

So, is this a regular verb? Of course not. There is no doubt that it is incorrect, because in each time it has its own form.
English modal verb can with translation (to be able; to be able).

Use of the verb Can in English

You, of course, remember that English grammar has frequent pitfalls. WITH with the verb Can interesting cases can be observed.

For example, the past tense form Could sometimes it has the meaning of present tense and future tense: the phrase “Could you help me?” can be translated as “Can you help me?”, as well as “Can you help me?” and even in the conditional mood “Could you help me?”

The same form Could is used in the conditional mood of the English language, in the second and third cases (Conditional of the 2nd and the 3rd case).

Note:

• If I could know that, I would prevent you.- If I could to know this, I would warn you.
• If he had known that, he could have helped us. - If he knew, he could would like to help us.

IN this proposal could also acts as an auxiliary verb, instead of which there could be would, And should, And might, that is, e forms that are always present in the conditional mood.

The present tense form of the verb Can has the following meanings:

• Skill, ability to do something: Sue can cook a cake. — Sue can bake a cake. My father can play chess. — My father knows how to play chess.
• Permission (in this case, the verb Can replaces the verb May, which more often means permission, but in the colloquial form of the language it is customary to use Can): You can go home if you want. -You can go home if you want. Can I take your pencil? —Can I borrow your pencil?
• Opportunity: I can find all the mistakes in my dictation. — I can find all the mistakes in my dictation. I can show you the way. - I can show you the way.
• Surprise, doubt: Can it be real? - Could this be real? Can it be true that Tom went to Italy? — Could it be true that Tom went to Italy?
• In the meaning of the future tense: I can give you this newspaper tomorrow, if you want. - I can give you this newspaper tomorrow if you want. I can go with you to there the next week. - I can go there with you next week.

The form of the future tense, namely Will be able, indicates ability, possibility, permission, etc. in the future. For example:

• We will be able to ski and skate in winter.- We will be able to ski and skate in winter.
• You will be able to go home after our lesson. - You can go home after our lesson.
• You will be able to see the tall trees on the coast of California. — You can see tall trees on the California coast.

Form Be able can also be used in the present tense and mean action in the present tense. For example:

• I am able to write this dictation right now. - I can write this dictation right now.
• Tom is able to help you. - Tom can help you.

So, these are all forms of the English modal verb Can. This verb is irregular only judging by the forms for each tense. But from a grammatical point of view, this is a Modal Verb, since it often acts as an auxiliary verb.

Modal verb can(can) and its form could(could) is the most common modal verb in English. We use it to show that we can, know how, are capable of doing something. In this article we will get acquainted with all the features of the modal verb can (could).

The first thing to remember is after can or could there must be another verb. After all, on my own can does not report an action, but only shows our attitude towards it: “I can do some action.” And after this “I can” it is necessary to add “I can do what?”: can dance(I can dance) can sing(I can sing), etc.

And the second thing that must not be forgotten is after can we don't put to: can speak English. We are accustomed to the fact that two verbs in English must be related to each other using to: decide to drink coffee(decide to have coffee) or offer to go for a walk(offer to go for a walk). But modal can works without to.

We noted that this modal verb has two forms: can And could. We use these forms with any subject, both singular and plural.

My friend can speak Japanese. - My friend knows how speak Japanese.

My friends can dance salsa. - My friends can dance salsa.

What's the difference between can And could? Can used when someone knows how to do something at present, and could– when someone knew how to do something in the past, now, most likely, they no longer know how.

He can swim. - He can swim.

He could swim. - He knew how swim.

How to build a sentence with can (could)

In the table we clearly show how to use can in different types of sentences.

And in the question, as expected, the word order will be slightly different.

Let's look at a few features of use can:

• Can (could) is always between the subject and the predicate.
• To ask questions, we will simply reschedule can And could first place, there is no need to add anything else.
• Particle in negation not joins can (could), forming the shape cannot (could not). IN colloquial speech we usually cannot reduce to can't (couldn't). By the way, cannot– this is the only modal that merges with the particle not when writing. Do you know how to pronounce it correctly? can't: /kɑːnt/ or / kænt/? There is a British variant of pronunciation - / /. And teacher Ronnie will teach you the American version of pronunciation in his video.

What does the modal verb can (could) mean?

The easiest way to understand the meaning is can (could) with examples. We express with can:

1. The mental or physical ability to do something.

   In this case can (could) is usually translated as “to be able”, “to be able to”.

   I can’t speak to you now but I can call you in the evening. – I can’t talk to you now, but I can call you in the evening.

   He could speak French. - He could speak French.

   Can you drive a car? - Can you drive a car?

2. Commonly accepted statements

We use can, when we want to show that some statement is true in most cases. Here we translate can as in "can".

The vacuum can frighten your cat. – A vacuum cleaner can scare your cat. (as a rule, cats are scared of vacuum cleaners, but not all)

In New York it can be difficult to rent an apartment. – It can be difficult to rent an apartment in New York.

Flowers can grow faster if they get a lot of sunshine. – Flowers can grow faster if they receive a lot of sunlight.

It should be noted that we do not use the form could to express this meaning.

3. Permission, request, prohibition.

   There are several patterns here: a request is usually conveyed through a question, permission through a statement, and a prohibition through a denial. If we see a request or permission in a sentence, we translate can the verb “to be able”, the prohibition is most often translated by the word “impossible”.

   – Can I take your car for the weekend? – Can I borrow your car for the weekend? (request)
   – Yes, you can. - Yes you can. (permission)
   – But you can’t exceed the speed limit. – But you can’t exceed the speed limit. (ban)

   We can express our request using can And could. Both options are often used in speech, only such requests differ in the degree of politeness. Let's look at examples:

   Can you tell me where the nearest bus station is? – Can you tell me where the nearest bus stop is? (this kind of treatment is more typical if you are communicating with a person of the same age)

   Could you tell me where the nearest bus stop is? – Could you tell me where the nearest bus stop is? (this is a more polite question; more often the British will use this option in order to be as polite and courteous as possible in the conversation)

   With the help can we can not only ask for permission, but also propose something ourselves. To do this we use the question form.

   Can I offer you a cup of tea? – Can I offer you a cup of tea?

   Can I help you choose a dress for the party? – Can I help you choose a dress for the party?

   Watch an interesting video from the teacher Alex, in which he, to those already known to us can And could, added a verb may.

   • You can also learn about the features of the modal verb may in the article “”.
4. Surprise, doubt, disbelief.

   This function also has its own patterns: doubt and distrust are usually found in negative sentences, and surprise - in interrogative ones. The verb is translated can (could) in such cases with the words “really”, “can’t be”, “hardly”, “can’t believe”, “possibly”, “probably”.

   Can these shoes cost so much money? - Are these shoes really worth that much? (astonishment)

   He can't work all day round. - It can’t be that he works around the clock. (mistrust)

   Do you know that could is a past tense form can. But if we want to express doubt in the past, we use the form can't have.

   He can’t have fallen asleep at the meeting. “It’s impossible that he fell asleep during the meeting.”

   They can't have missed the last bus. “I can’t believe they missed the last bus.”

   If someone violated a prohibition or did not listen to advice, then you can reproach him for this, using the same verb can. There is, however, one peculiarity: such sentences are constructed in the form of a negative question.

   Can’t you just stop telling silly jokes to the guests? “Can you just stop telling stupid jokes to your guests?”

   Can't you get along with her friends? – Can’t you communicate normally with her friends?

Set expressions with the verb can (could)

Can (could) occurs in some established expressions. Here are a few of the most common ones:

1. Can’t (couldn’t) but do something– there was nothing left but.
   

   I couldn't but agree with him. “I had no choice but to agree with him.”

2. Couldn't help doing something - I couldn’t resist; couldn't help but.
   

   I couldn't help laughing. – I couldn’t help but laugh.

3. Can’t stand something/somebody– I can’t stand something/someone.
   

   I can't stand him. – I can’t stand him.

To make sure that the modal verb can (could) is well remembered by you, take the test and keep our convenient sign for yourself.

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Using the modal verb can (could)

They say that someone else's family is in the dark. But the same expression can also be applied to foreign languages. They really are darkness. There are so many complex and incomprehensible things in any of them that it is sometimes almost impossible to learn someone else’s speech. But due to European integration, as well as the desire to visit America, many people are learning English. This is the speech that is taught in schools and kindergartens, universities and academies. This international language, which is very, very unprofitable not to know today. It has many different difficulties and incomprehensible moments that do not exist in the Russian language. For example, can is a verb belonging to the modal group and denoting a person’s physical skill.

The purpose of modal verbs

In English grammar, can is a verb that belongs to a separate group of modal verbs. These words lack all the basic forms that are characteristic of other verbs, and therefore they are sometimes called insufficient, or Defective Verbs. under no circumstances are they used independently, but only in combination with the infinitive of any other verb.

The modal verb can in English, like other words of this group, is used without the infinitive of another verb only in cases where it is clear from the context. For example, I wanted to open the door but I couldn't. (I wanted to open the door, but I couldn't).

The verb can and its use in different forms

Can is the verb that is used most often in English. It is often used when it is necessary to indicate the physical ability to perform some action, for example, he can hear, I can do it, you can and so on. In the past tense this word changes to could.

Like other modal verbs, it is not used in accordance with general rules. Thus, the affirmative and negative forms do not imply the use of the particle to between the verb and the given modal word. Thus, the construction He can to read is incorrect. The correct pronunciation is: He can read.

It is forbidden to use will to form the future tense of a modal verb. That is, saying “I will can write you tomorrow” is prohibited.

The verb can does not change in any way in the third person singular. If the construction He swims, She reads or It sings is considered accepted, then with the modal verb in question, these expressions will have the following form: He can swim or She can read.

Can to express negation changes and can be used in two versions: cannot (could not) or can’t (couldn’t). The shortened form is the most acceptable and often used in spoken language. In the British and American versions the form can't be pronounced different ways. In British English it sounds like , and in American English it sounds like .

When constructing a question, the modal verb comes first, for example: Can you dance? -Can you dance?

Uses of the modal verb can

The rules of use of which we will consider below are used with an infinitive in an indefinite form without the to element. The form could also has a similar meaning, but in the past tense. So, the word is used to define:

• The ability (opportunity) of a mental or physical nature to do something. For example, Could he swim when he was younger?
• Requests. Both forms of the modal verb are used in the interrogative form. A request using could is the preferred option, and is used in those sentences that are addressed to another person. Example: Could you tell me where the cinema is? (Can you tell me where the cinema is?).

• Ban. The form can’t is often used if it is necessary to prohibit someone from doing something: you can't or you can't. You can't eat this. You have an allergy. (You can't eat this. You're allergic).

Another use case

Modal English is also used to express incredulity, suspicion and bewilderment. The context influences a lot here, and therefore there are many nuances. Hesitation with a note of doubt is often used in negative sentences with a verb in an indefinite form. Oleg can’t swim across Lake Svitjaz. - Yes, Oleg cannot swim across (Bewilderment, distrust).

Can and to be able to

Can is a verb that has an almost equivalent analogue - to be able to. Can can be replaced by this phrase only if the modal verb is used in the meaning be able to do something.

Often the synonymous phrase “to be able to” is written or spoken when it is necessary to say that something needs to be done in the future tense, because there is no future tense option for the modal verb can. True, it is important to take into account a certain nuance: the modal verb itself is capable of belonging to the future tense.

The expression be able to in the future tense is relevant in cases where we are talking about a probability, opportunity or skill that is not present in this moment, but it will arise in the future. It is prohibited to use the verb can to denote a possibility or ability that will arise only in the future.

Using the phrase to be able to in the present tense sounds very strange. In such sentences, the modal verb can is considered the most acceptable.

Could have and Past Participle

The verb can (we discuss the rules for using the verb in this material) is often used in such a variant as could have plus Past Participle (third form of the verb, past participle). Such a turn of phrase can denote an action that a person could have performed, but never did. For example, He could have married her but he didn’t want to. - He could have married her, but he didn’t want to.

Also, using this construction, you can express a guess or assumption about something that happened in the past. For example, Linda could have told him the truth. - Maybe Linda told him the truth. Through the phrase could have plus Past Participle, they express a hypothesis about what did not happen in reality.