Can, Could, Be able to

Can and could are modal auxiliary verbs. Be able to is NOT an auxiliary verb (it uses
the verb be as a main verb). We include be able to here for convenience.

Can

Can is an auxiliary verb, a modal auxiliary verb. We use can to:

 talk about possibility and ability

 make requests
 ask for or give permission

Structure of Can

subject + can + main verb

The main verb is always the bare infinitive (infinitive without "to").

main verb auxiliary verb subject

tennis. play can I

+
tennis. play cannot He
-
can't

tennis? play you Can

?
Notice that:

 Can is invariable. There is only one form of can.

 The main verb is always the bare infinitive.

The main verb is always the bare infinitive

(infinitive without "to"). We cannot say:

…English your way ‫בדרך שלך‬

Use of Can
can: Possibility and Ability

We use can to talk about what is possible, what we are able or free to do:

 She can drive a car.

 John can speak Spanish.
 I cannot hear you. (I can't hear you.)
 Can you hear me?

Normally, we use can for the present. But it is possible to use can when we make
present decisions about future ability.

A. Can you help me with my homework? (present)

B. Sorry. I'm busy today. But I can help you tomorrow. (future)

can: Requests and Orders

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):

 Can you make a cup of coffee, please.

 Can you put the TV on.
 Can you come here a minute.
 Can you be quiet!

can: Permission

We sometimes use can to ask or give permission for something:

A. Can I smoke in this room?

B. You can't smoke here, but you can smoke in the garden.

(Note that we also use could, may, might for permission. The use of can for
permission is informal.)

…English your way ‫בדרך שלך‬

Could

Could is an auxiliary verb, a modal auxiliary verb. We use could to:

 talk about past possibility or ability

 make requests

Structure of Could

subject + could + main verb

The main verb is always the bare infinitive (infinitive without "to").

main verb auxiliary verb subject

swim. could My grandmother

+
walk. could not She
-
couldn't

swim? your grandmother Could

?
Notice that:

 Could is invariable. There is only one form of could.

 The main verb is always the bare infinitive.

The main verb is always the bare infinitive.

We cannot say:

Use of Could

could: Past Possibility or Ability

We use could to talk about what was possible in the past, what we were able or free to
do:

 I could swim when I was 5 years old.

…English your way ‫בדרך שלך‬

  My grandmother could speak seven languages.
 When we arrived home, we could not open the door. (...couldn't open the
door.)
 Could you understand what he was saying?

We use could (positive) and couldn't (negative) for general ability in the past. But
when we talk about one special occasion in the past, we use be able to (positive) and
couldn't (negative). Look at these examples:

Past

Specific Occasion General

A man fell into the river yesterday. The police My grandmother could speak +
were able to save him. Spanish.

A man fell into the river yesterday. The police My grandmother couldn't -
couldn't save him. speak Spanish.

could: Requests

We often use could in a question to ask somebody to do something. The use of could
in this way is fairly polite (formal):

 Could you tell me where the bank is, please?

 Could you send me a catalogue, please?

Be able to

Although we look at be able to here, it is not a modal verb. It is simply the verb be
plus an adjective (able) followed by the infinitive. We look at be able to here because
we sometimes use it instead of can and could.

We use be able to:

…English your way ‫בדרך שלך‬

  to talk about ability

Structure of Be able to

The structure of be able to is:

subject + be + able + infinitive

infinitive able be subject

adjective main verb

to drive. able am I
+
to drive. able is not She
-
isn't

to drive? able you Are

?
Notice that be able to is possible in all tenses, for example:

 I was able to drive...

 I will be able to drive...
 I have been able to drive...

Notice too that be able to has an infinitive form:

 I would like to be able to speak Chinese.

Use of Be able to Be able to is not a modal auxiliary verb. We

include it here for convenience, because it is
be able to: ability often used like "can" and "could", which are
modal auxiliary verbs.
We use be able to to express ability.
"Able" is an adjective meaning: having the power, skill or means to do something. If
we say "I am able to swim", it is like saying "I can swim". We sometimes use "be
able to" instead of "can" or "could" for ability. "Be able to" is possible in all tenses -
but "can" is possible only in the present and "could" is possible only in the past for
ability. In addition, "can" and "could" have no infinitive form. So we use "be able to"
when we want to use other tenses or the infinitive. Look at these examples:

…English your way ‫בדרך שלך‬

 I have been able to swim since I was five. (present perfect)
 You will be able to speak perfect English very soon. (future simple)
 I would like to be able to fly an airplane. (infinitive)

Can, Could, Be able to Quiz

Could 1
he understand what you were talking about?

can 2
My sister play tennis now.

could 3
I walk when I was less than a year old.

Can 4
(Polite) you tell me what time it is, please?

…English your way ‫בדרך שלך‬

 was able to 5
My grandfather walk without any help last
night.

be able to 6
I would like to play the piano.

been able to 7
How long have you drive?

be able to 8
I'll help you later.

can 9
Can you help me? I never understand this.

be able to 10
Will Man live forever one day?

…English your way ‫בדרך שלך‬