Can, Could

Can is used to express. Can (potere) si usa per esprimere:

1. ability or opportunity, abilità o opportunità,
2. permission, permesso
3. to request or offer, richiesta o offerta.

Can Can + infinitive without to

generally in present, but may refer to future we make present decisions about future ability. Si
usa generalmente in presente, ma può avere valore futuro.

She can play the violin. Ability (or inability)

Lei sa/può (è capace) suonare il We use can to talk about what we are able or free to do.
violino
She can drive a car. Si usa can per parlare di ciò che siamo capaci o liberi
Lei sa/può (è capace) guidare la di fare.
macchina.
I cannot hear you. (I can't hear you.)
He can swim like a fish.
They can’t dance very well.
- Can I borrow your laptop? (present)
- Sorry. I need it right now, but I can
lend it to you in the afternoon. (future)

Can I come in? Posso entrare Permission

You can't smoke here, but you can
smoke on the balcony.
Can I go home now?
Posso andare a casa adesso
You can go whenever you like.
We sometimes use can to ask or give permission for
something. (The use of can for permission is informal)
A volte usiamo can per chiedere o dare permessi (tale
uso è informale)

Can I smoke in the kitchen? Request

Posso fumare in cucina.
Can you make a cup of tea, please.
Puoi farmi (fammi) una tazza di té,
per favore.
Can you put the TV off.
Can you listen to me, please.
Can you be quiet!
We often use can to ask somebody to do something.
This is not a real question, we don’t really want to know
if the person is able to do something, we want them to do it!
This use of can is informal (mainly between friends and
family).
Spesso usiamo can per chiedere qualcosa a qualcuno,
ma in realtà non è una vera domanda bensì una richiesta
che vogliamo che venga soddisfatta. Can è informale in
questo caso.

Can I carry that bag for you? To make a polite offer. Per fare un’offerta gentile.

1. To be able to + infinito
is used to express ability in all the tenses, so it substitutes can in all the missing tenses.
Si usa per sostituire can in tutti i tempi mancanti, nel significato di abilità.
She has never been able to learn Japanese. Non ha mai potuto imparare il giapponese.
Next month I will be able to drive a car. Il prossimo mese potrò guidare la macchina.

1
Could Could + infinitive without to
It is generally the past and conditional of can. Generalmente è il passato e condizionale di can.

She could play the violin by the age of 10. Ability

Sapeva/poteva suonare il violino all’età di to express an ability in the past.
10 anni. Per esprimere un’abilità in passato.
Tom could run ten miles when he was
young.
Tom poteva (era capace) correre le 10 miglia
quando era giovane.

We could always spend the afternoon just Possibility

sitting and talking. Could is used to talk about theoretical
John could be the one who phoned you. possibility and is similar in meaning to might.
Potrebbe essere (Forse è) John chi ti ha Per parlare di teoriche possibilità con
chiamato. significato simile a might.
It could be Frank's.
Potrebbe essere di Frank.

If you feel bored, you could see a movie or Suggestion

go out to dinner. Suggerimenti
Se ti annoi, potresti vedere un film oppure
uscire a cena.
You could spend next summer in London.
Potresti passare l’estate a Londra.

When I was a child, I could have some Permission

icecream only on Sunday. to express past or future permission. In present
Da bambino potevo prendere il gelato solo la it is more formal than can.
domenica. Per esprimere permessi in passato o in futuro.
Could I go home now? Se usato in presente è più formale di can.
Potrei andare a casa adesso?

Could I smoke in the kitchen? Request

Potrei fumare in cucina?
Could I have something to drink?
Could I borrow your stapler?
Puoi prestarmi la tua pinzatrice?
Could I bother you for a moment?
Could is used to make polite requests. We can
also use can for these but could is more polite.
E’ usato per fare richieste in modo formale.

Both could and was/were able to express ability in the past, but:
P.S. Entrambi could and was/were able esprimono abilità/ capacità in passato, ma:
1. could express permanent ability in the past.
Could esprime abilità/capacità permanente o abituale in passato:
I could speak Spanish, because I learnt it in Spain.
Sapevo/potevo parlare lo spagnolo, perchè l’avevo imparato in Spagna.

2. was/were able to refers to a definite moment/situation in the past.

Was/were able to esprime abilità/capacità in un momento/situazione preciso del passato.
When I took part in the competition, I was able to run the 100m in ten second.
Quando ho partecipato alla gara, ho potuto (sono stato capace di) correre i 100m in 10 secondi.

2
Alternative ways to express ability.

To be capable of+-ing She is capable of using power point.

To know haw to+infinitive She knows how to use power point.
To manage to+infinitive I managed to arrive on time.
Sono riuscito ad arrivare in tempo.
To succeed in+-ing I succeded in arriving on time.
Sono riuscito ad arrivare in tempo.

*Interactive Exercises
http://www.saberingles.com.ar/curso/lesson13/05.html
http://www.better-english.com/grammar/can2.htm
http://www.better-english.com/grammar/can3.htm
http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/could/exercise1.html
http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/could/exercise2.html
http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/could/exercise3.html
http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/could/exercise4.html
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/modals/can.htm

*Please note the videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEEMU3CDzBg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anjFtHbZabs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNxlHz4UxCE&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPWx9G40ikY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlB373yzVTY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OU66_6rZl0&feature=related