EXERCISES: MEANINGS AND USES OF CAN/COULD

I. Identify the meanings of can in the following sentences; choose between:

a) physical / mental ability;
b) theoretical possibility;
c) permission / prohibition;
d) request, invitation, offer, suggestion (indirect speech acts).
* Support your choices with explanations; add examples of your own.

You can’t take these books home with you. (deontic - when in the negative, can refuses permission,
in the same manner as may not.)
She knows I cannot refuse her so she always asks for favours. (ability - lack of ability with animate
subjects)
Can it be true? It (simply) can’t be true! (Possibility can is more frequent in non-assertions i.e.
negative and interrogative sentences, while in affirmative ones may is preferred)
What is done cannot be undone. (epistemic - passive sentences constitute another context that
favours the interpretation towards a possibility sense)
There can be only one possible and terrifying outcome of this imminent war.
(epistemic - circumstances are such as not to preclude the truth of the asserted sentence)
He can’t have meant to hurt her feelings as I know they are the best of friends. (epistemic - the
perfect infinitive form – as well as the progressive aspectual form - is another marker of
epistemic interpretation)
Who can be ringing so late at night? Can it be Jim, who’s just got back from the States? (epistemic -
the perfect infinitive form – as well as the progressive aspectual form - is another marker of
epistemic interpretation)
What can she mean by that? (epistemic – uncertainty, bewilderment etc. = emotions)
Now I can understand what you mean to do. (ability - with verbs of mental cognition like
understand, remember, think, stand, bear, be bothered – contextual extensions of “ability” can)
We can send you a confirmation of receipt, if you wish. (ability - with 1st person pronouns, I or
exclusive we, can is used to make an offer)
The bus station is not very far; you can walk there; it takes you about five minutes. (ability - with a
2nd person pronoun it suggests that action be taken by the person addressed)
Can I have a look at those photos? (ability – request = Can U give me the photos?)
You can call on me every time you feel like it. (ability - with a 2nd person pronoun it suggests that
action be taken by the person addressed)
I’m sorry I can’t help you with your mathematics; I have no head for algebra. (mental ability)
You can certainly give me a ring back to tell me when you come by. (ability - with a 2nd person
pronoun it suggests that action be taken by the person addressed)
She can spend day after day in the library searching more data for her research paper. (recurrence,
the fact that a tendency in a person or thing is apt to manifest itself occasionally)
Can you pass me the sugar, please? (ability – request, with a 2 nd person pronoun it suggests that
action be taken by the person addressed)
We already know she can be unfriendly when she wants to. (recurrence - while will and would
imply regular/habitual activity, can suggests occasional behaviour)
He can’t not answer their polite request to forward the necessary details. (possibility to negate the
event by using emphatic not)
We can try to solve that now or we can put it off for later. (if we is used inclusively, it combines
offer and suggestion)
You can’t have rejected such an attractive proposal if you know where your interest lies. (epistemic
- the perfect infinitive form – as well as the progressive aspectual form - is another marker of
epistemic interpretation)

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II. Give reasons for using can/be able to in the following sentences; refer to the course whenever
you need:

is able to = can & does (preferred if the TR is present - the subject accomplishes the task)
can = can & will do (it does not indicate an event that takes place now; it merely indicates that
circumstances are such as not to preclude such an eventuality)

If he still is the person I have known him to be, I’m sure he can provide/is able to provide =is
providing quite decently for him and his family. (the circumstances are such as not to preclude the
event/accomplishes the task)
I … see her standing there alone, and I … say that she felt embarrassed, … to say a word . (can –
can – not able/unable=and couldn’t say…)
When she saw the bus, she ran as fast as she …, but … to get on. (could – was not able/was
unable/couldn’t get on )
He made me so mad that in the state I was, I … actually say things I knew I would regret later .
(could 4 potentiality – be able to 4 accomplished past task)
However harsh they were, they still wanted their son to always be honest and speak up his mind;
he … stand up and tell them his opinion whenever he wanted to. (could 4 potentiality – be able to
4 accomplished past task)
There was very little I … say or do about the whole situation. What had been done … be undone.
(could 4 potentiality – be able to 4 accomplished past task, could not – passive environment)
They were so shocked, they … hardly utter a word. (could with an overall negative context +
hardly, scarcely,little, nearly)
I … understand what he meant, but that did not necessarily mean that I … agree with him. (could
with sensation/mental cognition verbs)
Look! As I have told you I don’t know how many times, I … do it on my own.
When you are in your sixties, you’ll … to say that you have had enough. (am able to – can & do)

* Supply some more examples to highlight the differences in use between the two.

III. Make sentences to illustrate the following meanings and uses of can-could/be able to:

present physical/mental ability;

past physical/mental ability;
present ability to be actualized in the future;
accomplished task in the present;
single accomplished past occurrence;
single potential (not realized) task;
habitual, recurrent past event;
not accomplished past event;
timeless future physical/mental ability;
physical/mental ability to be actualized at a specific future moment;
description of present/past characteristic features of people/events;
possible event/situation;
asking for/granting present/past/future permission;
strong recommendation;
circumstantial possibility (if…, you can…)/(…so that X can/could…);
present/past occasional, recurrent, habitual behaviour (the same as WILL/WOULD);
past possibility not put to the test/unfulfilled past possibility;
reproach for past actions;
offers, requests, suggestions, invitations.

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IV. Translate into English and give reasons for your choices:

Mă tem că nu înţeleg prea mult din ce spune; ori nu sunt în stare să urmăresc nimic pentru că sunt
obosit, ori vorbitorul nu şi-a structurat prea bine discursul. (I’m afraid I don’t/can’t quite
understand what he’s saying; it’s either that I can’t follow anything because I’m tired, or because
the speaker hasn’t done a good job organizing his speech)
Sunt nou în oraş. Credeţi că m-aţi putea ajuta să găsesc sediul Institutului de cercetări? (I’m new in
town/I’ve just come to this/the town. Do you think you could help me to find the headquarters of
the Research Institute?)
Sugerăm să ne oprim deocamdată, dar am putea continua mâine la aceeaşi oră. Credeţi că vom
putea termina suficient de repede pentru a trimite la timp documentele? (We suggest that we
stop/We can/could stop for now, but we can/could go on (at the) same hour tomorrow. Do you
think we’ll be able to finish fast enough to send the documents in time?)
Îmi amintesc că era o vreme când puteam petrece zile întregi fără să obosim. Să fie oare vârsta? Nu
se poate! (I remember there was a time when we could party for days (on end) without getting
tired. Could it be the age? It can’t be!)
Am să fiu în stare să-l bat la table când voi avea mai multă experienţă. (I’ll be able to win over him
at gammons when I have/am more experience/d)
Putem să găzduim următoarea conferinţă la Galaţi, vara viitoare. Am putea să trimitem invitaţiile
chiar săptămâna viitoare. (We can/could host the following conference in Galati, next summer. We
could send the invitations even next week.)
Din fericire, mi-am făcut mulţi prieteni de când m-am mutat în acest oraş. Ştii cât de greu poate fi
la început. (Fortunately, I’ve made a lots of friends/befriended a lot since I moved to this town.
You know how hard it can be in the beginning/at first)
Dacă te concediază, poţi oricând să vii la firma noastră. Ştiu cât de încredere poţi fi şi chiar aş dori
să ni te poţi alătura. (If they sack/fire you/give you the sack, you cand always come to our firm. I
know how trustworthy you can be and I really wish you could join us)
În ce priveşte medicamentul acesta, se ştie că poate fi foarte folositor în tratamentul pneumoniei;
nu se poate să fi refuzat administrarea lui. (As to this drug, it is know it can ( it is known to be)
very useful in the treatment of pneumonia ; s/he can’t have refused its administration)
Iarăşi vorbeşte la telefon! Cu cine o mai fi vorbind şi de data asta? Aş putea să pariez că e vreuna
din prietenele ei cu care poate vorbi ore întregi fără să se plictisească. (She’s on the phone again!
Who can she be talking to this time? I can/could bet it’s one of her friends with whom she can
speak for hours and not get bored)
Nu se poate să fi venit la întrunire; aş fi observat-o şi sigur m-aş fidus să vorbesc cu ea. Ştiu cât de
jignită se poate simţi când nu este băgată în seamă. (She can’t have been at the meeting; I would
have noticed her and gone to talk to her. I know how offended she can feel when she’s
unattended)
Spune că ar putea termina lucrarea de îndată ce intră în posesia tuturor articolelor de specialitate
care s-au publicat în ultimii doi ani.
(He says he can/could finish the work as soon as he gets all the specialty articles published in the
last two years)
A spus că ar putea termina lucrarea de îndată ce intră în posesia tuturor articolelor de specialitate
care s-au publicat în ultimii doi ani. (He said he could…)
Nu-mi dau seama ce urmăreşte; s-ar putea să intenţioneze să înfiinţeze o societate de asigurări. (I
cannot tell what he’s after/up to; he could intend to found an insurance company)
Deşi poate fi nesuferit uneori, şi-a cerut scuze că n-a putut ajunge la timp din cauza unui blocaj în
trafic. (Although he can be such a pain/so nasty sometimes, he apologized for not being able to get
in time due to a traffic jam)
Ai fi putut să-mi spui şi mie despre broşurile pe care le-ai luat de la agenţia de voiaj; mi-aş fi făcut
o idee mai clară despre condiţiile pe care le oferă. (You could of told me about the brochures you
had taken from the travel agency ; I could have had a clearer idea about the terms they offer)
Vezi silueta acea care se apropie? Dacă reuşeşti să recunoşti persoana, poţi să-mi spui şi mie cine
este, pentru că nu văd nimic cu ochelarii ăştia noi; aş fi putut la fel de bine să mă lipsesc de ei. (Can
you/See that/the figure approaching? If you can recognize the person, you could tell me who it is
as I can’t see anything through my/these new glasses; I could as well do without)

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Poţi să crezi că parlamentul ar fi putut vota o asemenea lege care să afecteze interesele bolnavilor?
(Can you believe the Parliament could have passed such a law affecting the interests of the sick?)
Dacă au reuşit să-i convingă să intre în proiect, este pentru că ei chiar sunt în stare să-l ducă la bun
sfârşit. (If they were successful/succeded in persuading them to join the project, its’ because they
really are able to carry it out)
Cercetătorii din domeniu s-au străduit să obţină un nou medicament care să fie cât mai eficient,
astfel încât bolnavii să poată spera într-o însănătoşire rapidă. (Researchers in the domain thrived to
obtain a new, most efficient drug, so the patients can hope for (a) quick recovery)