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12.1 Ability: Can and Could

Statements

Subject Modal (Not) Base Form
I can paint with watercolors.
You can’t
She could
They couldn’t speak before the age of three.

Yes/No and Wh- Questions Short Answers
Wh- Word Modal Subject Base Form
Can Lisa sing? Yes, she can.
Could you see the stage last night? No, I couldn’t.
What can babies say at age one? Not much.
When could you speak English well? A few years ago.

1. Can and could are modals. Modals add We can watch TV when we finish dinner.
meaning to a verb. Use the base form You can’t see the board. Maybe you need glasses.
of a verb after affirmative and negative They couldn’t find the museum, so they came home.
forms of modals.
2. Modals do not change form. Do not add ✓ They can see the movie tomorrow.
-s/-es to the end of modals. ✗ She cans see the sign.
3. To form questions, put the modal before ✓ Can you understand me?
the subject. Do not use do/does. ✗ Do you can understand me?
4. To form negatives, use not after the ✓ He couldn’t understand the teacher today.
modal. Do not use a form of do. ✗ He didn’t could understand the teacher today.
5. Use can to express ability or possibility in Larissa can play the violin beautifully.
the present or future. She can sing for us tomorrow night.
6. Use could to talk about ability in the past. Jon could paint very well when he was young.

4 Complete the sentences. Use can ( not ) or could ( not ) and the words in parentheses.

1. HA Schult can create (create) beautiful art from trash.

2. (we / see) the exhibit today? rEal ENGlIsH
There are three correct ways
3. Beethoven (not hear) well, but he to write can + not: can not,

(create) beautiful music. cannot, and can’t.
4. Tim and Ria (not discuss) modern art until they took an art history

class. Now they (talk) about different artists and movements.

5. Some people (not understand) modern art.

6. A: (van Gogh / write) beautiful music?
B: No, but he (paint) amazing pictures.

322 Modals: Part 1
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