You use can to indicate that someone has the ability or opportunity to do something. Don't worry yourself about me, I can take care of myself. I can't give you details because I don't actually have any details.

Understanding the Context

The United States will do whatever it can to help Greece. Both Can and Could are Modal Verbs. In general Could is considered more polite (or formal) that Can. The three main uses of Can are: 1) ability 2) possibility and 3) permission.

Key Insights

However there are some other used of Can as we will see below. 1. To express ability. Can means to be (physically) able to do something OR to know how to do something. Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.

Final Thoughts

opened canned salmon on wooden table - A-lesa/Getty Images Canned salmon is a seriously underrated protein. It's nutritious, shelf ... Canva is a free-to-use online graphic design tool. Use it to create social media posts, presentations, posters, videos, logos and more. Can is usually used in standard spoken English when asking for permission. It is acceptable in most forms of written English, although in very formal writing, such as official instructions, may is often used instead: Persons under 14 unaccompanied by an adult may not enter.

The use of can to ask or grant permission has been common since the 19th century and is well established, although some feel may is more appropriate in formal contexts. May is relatively rare in negative constructions (mayn't is not common); cannot and can't are usual in such contexts. Learn how to use CAN and CAN'T (CANNOT) in this English grammar lesson for beginners. We use can and can't to talk about ability, possibility, make requests, and ask for permission.