Word Chest - Week 15 | English Modal Verbs: Can, Could, Be Able to

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Can • Could • Be able to

These are English Modal verbs we use frequently. Just like every other modal auxiliary verb, these words are used to express the modality of an event, that is, the likelihood of something happening.

In an English class, you must have learnt that Modal Verbs (i.e. Will, Would, Shall, Should, Can, Could, May, Might, Ought to etc) are those auxiliary verbs (helping verbs) which are used to indicate the mood of the verb.

That's very correct. They can also be classified as secondary auxiliary verbs.

Let's see how this applies to Can • Could and • Be able to

The aforementioned English modal verbs are generally used to express the following characteristics and meanings:

Can • Cannot/Can't

Can is used to speak about someone or something's general abilities or skill.

Examples

Uche can speak two Nigerian local languages.
Uche can't speak any Nigerian local languages.
The device's internal memory can store a lot of information.
Luxury brands cannot sell cheap items. This explains why their products are always expensive.

The sentences above express ability — what Uche is able to do, what the device's internal memory is capable of doing and what luxury brands are not able to do.

Exercise 1
Think of something you can do now. Give at least three examples in the comment

Can is also used to express permission.
Examples

You can take my share of the money.
The children can eat the remaining bananas.

Used to express possibility.
Examples

Can she help me treadle the sewing machine after attending to her clients?

This is used mostly in informal settings.

Could
The past tense form of can. Recall that when could is used as a past tense form of can, the next verb that follows is always in the present tense form.

Examples

Bisi could finish a marathon race in minutes when she was young.✔️
Bisi could finished a marathon race in minutes when she was young.❌

Exercise 2
a. What are the things you could do when you were younger? Leave your answers in the comment.

b. Rewrite the following sentences by changing the tense to the past form.

The man cannot see you.

I cannot open the safe.

Can he fix the antenna on the roof?

Could can also be used in the present form to express a possibility that is theoretical and to make a polite request.
Examples

Could you hold the baby for a moment? (politeness).
It could rain tomorrow. (theoretical possibility)

Exercise 3

Write out three polite requests with the modal verb "could".

Able to
This is another expression that is similar to can. It is grammatical to say: Daye is able to build websites. (But that's wordy)

Note that able to does not express permission and possibility. It only shows ability.

_{This video on English Modals of Ability will help you understand why.}

In addition, it is ungrammatical to use both can and able to together, as in:
I can be able to come. (ungrammatical)

Able to is used to indicate that something has been completed.
Examples

I was able to complete the design before my laptop went off.

_{Video 2 – This video is another must-see.}

Exercise 4
Complete this passage with can or could.
Last year during the holiday, Olivia and I visited our aunt who lives in Ghana. Since we _______ not go sightseeing on the first day of our arrival, we decided to visit the zoo the next day. On getting there, we observed that the gate and cages had the notice. ‘You _______ take pictures but you should not feed the animals’.

Visitors _______ not get too close to the cages because of the barricade placed around them. This did not stop us from watching the monkeys and gorillas in amusement as they tried to mimic our actions. One _______ tell that they loved the attention visitors gave to them.

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