can

They are also used to say that someone has permission to do something. Get the Word of the Day every day! If all goes well, the coach secured with a proven approach could lead to a return to happier days.

• Can m (plural cans, feminine canha, feminine plural canhas)
• Can, could, and be able to are all used to talk about a person’s ability to do something.
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• It didn’t take too long for teachers and grammarians of the day to proscribe that can should only be used of ability and may of permission.

English

If you want to say that it is impossible that something was true, you use could not have. If you want to say that it is impossible that something is true, you use cannot or could not. Could and can are used to talk about possibility in the present or future. Can and could are used with verbs such as see, hear, and smell to say that someone is or was aware of something through one of their senses. There is no -ing form of can or could.

], from Latin canis, canem. In formal settings, can usually cannot be used to mean “dear” and hêja is used instead. Can m (plural chen, diminutive cagnetto or cagnin, feminine cagna)

Meaning of can in English

These words are used to talk about ability, awareness, and possibility. Can is now the verb of choice for ability, and both can and may are still used in the “possibility” sense. In reality, can likely has more use in the “permission” sense than is recorded, as it is more informal and so shows up in speech more frequently than may does. It didn’t take too long for teachers and grammarians of the day to proscribe that can should only be used of ability and may of permission.

verb (used with object)

Don’t use ‘could not’ to say that there is a possibility that something is not true. You use could to say that there is a possibility that something is or will be true. You use can or be able to to talk about ability in the present. To form the negative of be able to, you either put not or another negative word in front of able, or you use the expression be unable to. Learn a new word every day.

To add can to a word list please sign up or log in. Worthy and wicked (Words meaning ‘good’ and ‘bad’) Middle English (1st & 3rd singular present indicative), from Old English; akin to Old High German kan (1st & 3rd singular present indicative) know, am able, Old English cnāwan to know — more at know

• You can use an -ing form of be able to.
• All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only.
• You use can or be able to to talk about ability in the present.
• Old Anatolian Turkish جان (cān), from Persian جان (jân).

Words That Turned 100 in 2025

1855, in the meaning defined at sense 1a Before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1 Before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 2 All four of these meanings were in use before 1000AD. ” since their ability to use the facilities is likely not in question.

You can use an -ing form of be able to. If you want to say that someone did not do something because they did not have the ability to do it, you say that they could not have done it. If you want to say that someone had the ability to do something but did not in fact do it, you say that they could have done it. If you say that someone was able to do something, you usually mean that they had the ability to do it and they did it.

It was a verb that originally meant “to know,” and then “to know how to do something,” and then “to have the ability to do something.” This last meaning, which showed up around 1300, was can’s first semantic overlap with may. You use a future form of be able to to talk about ability in the future. You use could or a past form of be able to to talk about ability in the past. Could is also used to talk about ability in the present, but it has a special meaning. May is the more formal word, and if you are at all concerned about being tut-tutted, a safe choice.

Turkish

Can (feminine singular can, plural can, equative canned, comparative cannach, superlative cannaf) All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. Don’t use ‘could not have’ to say that there is a possibility that something was not true. You also use could have to say that there was a possibility of something being true in the past, although it was not in fact true. You use could have to say that there is a possibility that something was true in the past.

verb (

From Latin canis, canem (“dog”). See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form. Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese can, from Latin canis, canem. Inherited from Old Anatolian Turkish جان (cān), from Persian جان (jân). Old Anatolian Turkish جان (cān), from Persian جان (jân). From Latin canis, canem.

auxiliary verb

If you want to sound formal, use may. Can and may are both used to talk about permission. Can (nominative plural cans) Inherited from Latin canis, canem (“dog”). From Persian جان (jân, “soul, life, life force”). Can m can alcoholics eat food cooked with alcohol (plural cans, feminine canha, feminine plural canhas)

There is no particular reason for the rule, except for the fact that may has been used longer to mean “to give permission” than can has. It originally referred to having strength or power, and then very quickly developed a meaning that referred to ability. But the reality of the situation is that both can and may have been used historically to refer to permission and continue to be used so today. The “joke” here is based on the insistence that you should use may when asking for permission to do something, and can when speaking about ability. Using can in this sense isn’t incorrect but it is considered informal.

If you say that someone could do something, you mean that they have the ability to do it, but they don’t in fact do it. Can, could, and be able to are all used to talk about a person’s ability to do something. The negative form of could is could not or couldn’t. The negative form of can is cannot or can’t.