Semester 2- Lecture No. 2 - Reading

Can - Cannot - Can t

English Grammar Notes


Can is a modal verb.

Can is used to express ability or to say that something is possible.

Can is the same for all subjects. We don t add an S in the third person (like other verbs)

The verb that comes after Can is in the infinitive without to:

I can speak Spanish. (= it is possible for me to speak Spanish = I have the ability to speak Spanish)
He can swim well.
We can see our neighbour in the garden.
They can play the guitar.
For more uses of Can see: Modal Verbs: Can - Could





Negative
To form the negative we add "not" after can to form one word: cannot.

We can also contract the negative to form can t. (can t = cannot)

I cannot play the piano. We can t go to the cinema tonight.
She cannot speak French very well. He can t drive a car.

Questions
To from the question we change the position of the subject and the auxiliary verb.

The main verb is still in the infinitive without to.

Where can I buy an ice-cream?
Can I go to the party, please?
Can you speak Japanese?
What can we do on Saturday?
Remember that you can use short answers:

Can I sit here please? Yes, you can.
Can you speak Chinese? No, I can t.
Summary Chart
Can - Cannot - Simple Present Tense
Impersonal Can
Sometimes You can and Can you…? are impersonal and refer to people in general.

You can see many stars at night from here. (= people in general can see many stars)
It doesn t necessarily refer to you but people in general.

You can t run naked in the middle of the street.
Not necessarily saying YOU can t run naked in the middle of the street but in general it is not possible for anyone.