Can / Could

We use can and the infinitive for abilities and to say something is possible or permitted:

SubjectcanInfinitive
Icanswim500m.
You cangeta 30 day visa.
He candrivewell.
She cantake20 days holiday.
We canmeetat 3.
They canplayin the garden.

The negative of can is can't:

CAN (-)Contraction (-)
cannotcan't

Subjectcan'tInfinitive
Ican'tswimwell.
You can'tgeta 2 year visa.
He can'tdrivewell.
She can'ttakea 6 month holiday.
We can'tmeetat 3.
They can'tplayin the street.

The past of can is could:

can (present)can (past)
cancould

SubjectcouldInfinitiveTime Phrase
Icouldswim50mlast year.
You couldgeta 6 month visa2 years ago.
He couldsingwellwhen he was young.
She couldtake10 days holidaylast month.
We couldseeityesterday.
They couldplayin the street50 years ago.

The negative (-) of could is couldn't:

COULD (-)Contraction (-)
could notcouldn't

Subjectcouldn'tInfinitiveTime Phrase
Icouldn'tswimwellwhen he was young.
You couldn'tgeta 3 month visalast year.
He couldn'tsingitlast week.
She couldn'ttakeany holidaylast month.
We couldn'tseeityesterday.
They couldn'tplaycomputer games50 years ago.

Questions - Can and Could

Can and could come before the subject for questions:

CANSubjectYes/NoSubjectCAN
Canyouswim well?Yes,Ican.
Couldyouswim well last year?Yes,Icould.

Short Answers - Can and Could

For closed questions (yes and no answers):

Positive (+)Negative (-)
Yes, I can.No, I can't.
Yes, you could.No, I couldn't.

CANSubjectYes/NoSubjectCAN
Canyouswim well?Yes,Ican.
Canyouswim well?No,Ican't.
Couldyouswim well last year?Yes,Icould.
Couldyouswim well last year?No,Icouldn't.

Review Quiz

Try the quiz below!

Modals - Can

Modals - Could

Modals - Requests ( can / could )

Modals - Have To

Modals - Review