Read these sentences and choose the correct answer to fill in the gaps. 1. A cat climb trees.
couldn't
could
can
can't
2. When I was a baby, I sleep all day long.
couldn't
can't
could
can
3. If you lived in the country, you grow your own vegetables.
can't
can
could
couldn't
1. A cat climb trees.
Correct answer 1: can
2. When I was a baby, I sleep all day long.
Correct answer 2: could
3. If you lived in the country, you grow your own vegetables.
Correct answer 3: could
Объяснение:
Modal verb '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
The main verb is always the bare infinitive (infinitive without "to").
subject
auxiliary verb
main verb
+
I
can
play
tennis
-
He
cannot/can't
play
tennis
?
Can
you
play
tennis
Can:
Possibility and Ability
We use can to talk about what is possible, what we are able or free to do:
Normally, we use can for the present. But it is possible to use can when we make present decisions about future ability.
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):
Permission
We sometimes use can to ask or give permission for something:
Modal verb 'could'
Could is an auxiliary verb, a modal auxiliary verb. We use could to:
- talk about past possibility or ability
- make requests
The main verb is always the bare infinitive (infinitive without "to").
subject
auxiliary verb
main verb
+ My grandmother
could
swim.
- She
could not/couldn't
walk.
? Could
your grandmother
swim?
Use of 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:
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).
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).
Answer:
1 — can
2 — could
3 — could