279
can
NAmE kaent/, pt could /kad; strong
form kud/, negative could not, short form couldn’t /' kudnt/)
1 used to say
that it is possible for sb/sth to do sth, or for sth
to happen ( ) f£, 4:
I can
run fast. M f# 'l& o 0 Can you call back tomorrow? EjfjXifcM0 ? <0 He couldn’t answer the
question,
fife M 0 ^ IP X 0 JSl o 0 The stadium can be emptied in four
minutes.
o o I can’t promise anything, but I’ll
do what Ican.m^m%-ftif&, O Please
let us
know if you cannot attend the meeting. fTTfTits#)JP iX, immmn <, 2 used to say that sb knows how to do sth ( ) fit#, She can speak
Spanish. <,
o Can he cook? ftfe^MiftlW?
o I could drive a car before I left
school.
T1 fj Wt^TTM-T
„ 3 used with the verbs ‘feel’, ‘hear’, ‘see’,
‘smell’,‘taste’ ( is] feel, hear,
see, smell, tasted ) : She could feel a lump in her breast. #tfefill!j d £$J <> I can hear music. fSnJrHMM& K 0 4 used to show that sb is allowed to do sth
( XX ftif- ) rT I'X \
You can take the car, if you want, in *! jfj IP 4 , % ifc ^ ^ ffl pE o 0 We can’t
wear jeans at work. fl l I # Pt T 4T
ff W o 5 (informal) used to ask permission to do sth ( ) nj\cX: Can I read
GRAMMAR POINT if >£$0.8
can. could * be able to♦ manage
■
Can is used to say that somebody knows how to do
something. * can ##: Can
you play the
piano? It is also used with verbs of
seeing,
noticing, etc. see, notice
^: / can hear someone calling. n/fJ&MXMU?0o and with passive infinitives, ft- X#j
: The DVD can be rented from your local
store.
&
DVD
■
Can or be able to are used to say that
something is possible or that somebody has the opportunity to do something. *
can ^ be able to
^ KM: Can
you/are you able to come on Saturday? fTM$]Af^®j?
■
You use be able to to form the future and perfect tenses and the
infinitive. be able to
%: You’ll be able to get a taxi outside the
station. Hf H3T o
I haven’t been able to get much work done today.
o She’d love to be
able to
play the piano.
m Could is used to talk about what
someone was generally able to do in the past. * could #Iis#: Our
daughter could walk when she was nine months old. Hcfp(ftKJLT/M To
■
You use was/were able to or manage (but not could) when you are saying
that something was possible on a particular occasion in the past.
RK of fblTVffl was/were able to
manage, fSTffl could: / was able to/managed to find some useful
books in the library. &HI4$it o / could find some
useful
books
in the library-. In negative
sentences, could not can also be used. could not: We
weren’t
able to/didn’t manage to/couldn’t get there in time. fSfn^t£M£f f'JilUL Could is also used
with this meaning with verbs of seeing, noticing, understanding, etc. fpof could jjP see, notice, understand
^^jinJ^js'llfc^.: / could see there was something wrong.
» Could have is used when you are saying
that it was possible for somebody to do something in the past but they did not
try.
If could
have: / could
have won the game but decided to let her win. nXXUM'mmft#, ffi&
o another note at can