can
part of speech
modal verb (can, cannot, can't, could); noun (can, cans); verb (can, cans, canned — to put in cans)
meaning for a pupil
1) Can means is able to: I can swim. tree →
2) Can means is allowed to: You can go out now. tree →
3) Can is used to ask politely: Can I have some water? tree →
4) A can is a metal container for food or drink: a can of beans. tree →
5) Can shows what is possible: It can get cold at night. tree →
6) (casual) «Can't be bothered» means don't want to make the effort; «can do» means yes, I'll do it; «I can't even» (slang) means it is too much to deal with. tree →
7) (casual, US) «The can» is a rude word for the toilet; «in the can» means finished. tree →
8) (formal) The exam voice says «is able to», «is capable of», «may», «is permitted to», «has a capacity of». tree →
sense in the lessons
what an action is able to do; how many something is able to hold («each box can hold 6 eggs» = the size of one group); in class «Can you help me?», «I cannot do that»; in everyday life a can of soup, a watering can, a recycling can, a garbage can (US); in casual talk «can't be bothered», «can do»; in the exam voice «has a capacity of 30 passengers», «is permitted to», «may be assumed»
examples
- Giving can make you have more or less: it depends on who gives to whom. tree →
- Student: I divide : I cannot do that (because of «each») tree →
- A bus can carry 30 children. tree →
- Each box can hold 6 eggs. tree →
- Birds can fly, but penguins cannot. tree →
- Can I go to the toilet, please? tree →
- Open a can of tomatoes for the soup. tree →
- You can play after you finish your homework. tree →
- can u grab 4 cans of coke on the way tree →
- can't be bothered walking, it's only 2 stops tree →
- «Can you set the table?» «Can do!» tree →
- Each vehicle has a capacity of 30 passengers; determine the number of vehicles required for 90 pupils. tree →
note
«can hold N» or «has a capacity of N» gives the size of one group, often for multiplying or dividing. No operation clue by itself. After «can» the verb has no -s or «to»: she can swim (not «she can swims», not «can to swim»). «cannot» is one word; short form «can't». Past: could. Trap: «can carry 30» is the most, not the real number on the bus. «can't be bothered» is about feeling lazy, not about being able.
In the corpora
- Shops, hospitals, buses and factories need people at all hours, so their workers follow a rota that can change every week.
- Some people go to work ill because they can't afford to lose the pay, which spreads germs to everyone else.
- A deposit for buying a home is often tens of thousands of pounds, and saving for it can take years.
- Most adults have some, like a mortgage or a car loan, and planned debt can be fine.
- Debt becomes a problem when the repayments are more than the family can afford.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «can» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.