Can & Could — Habilidades y Posibilidades
Can — Presente
| Use | Example |
|---|
| Ability (habilidad) | I can swim. / She can speak French. |
| Permission (permiso) | You can sit here. / Can I use your phone? |
| Possibility | We can go tomorrow. |
Negative: cannot / can't
- I can't swim. / She can't drive.
Questions: Can + subject + verb?
- Can you swim? — Yes, I can. / No, I can't.
Could — Past + Courtesy
| Use | Example |
|---|
| Past ability | I could swim when I was 5. |
| Polite request | Could you help me, please? |
| Possibility (uncertain) | It could rain later. |
Negative: couldn't
- I couldn't swim when I was 3.
Can vs. Could
| Present | Past | Polite |
|---|
| ✅ | I can swim. | I could swim at 5. | Could you help? |
| ❌ | I can't drive. | I couldn't read at 3. | — |
Be able to (alternativa)
- Can no tiene futuro ni infinitivo. Usa be able to:
- Futuro: I will be able to swim next year.
- Infinitivo: I want to be able to speak French.
- Could = general ability in the past. Was/were able to = specific achievement:
- I could swim when I was 5. (habilidad)
- I was able to fix the car yesterday. (logro concreto)
💡 "Can" NO lleva "to": I can swim (NOT: I can to swim)