Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- auxiliary verb Used to indicate ability or permission in the past.
- auxiliary verb Used with hypothetical or conditional force.
- auxiliary verb Used to indicate tentativeness or politeness.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Preterit of
can .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- imperative Was, should be, or would be, able, capable, or susceptible. Used as an auxiliary, in the past tense or in the conditional present.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb Simple past of
can . - verb Used to politely ask for
permission to do something. - verb Used to politely ask for someone else to do something.
- verb Used to show the
possibility that somethingmight happen. - verb Used to
suggest something.
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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I used to always wonder why I could be so awful to my family my parents, my sister, and I think it's because I knew I *could* be so mean to them & they would always be there.
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I don't know if I could get you a gig there, but if I *could* would you want to?
seanan_mcguire: A letter to the Great Pumpkin. seanan_mcguire 2009
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This means that when we speak of a person's actions, in most cases he could have done otherwise, given the Stoics 'analysis of ˜could™ and other modal concepts.
Stoicism Baltzly, Dirk 2008
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Not outlandishly fast, but fast enough that adaptation could *could*–it is unclear be fairly difficult.
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Yes priceless could be ..could be .. or worthless could also be .
operation global media domination: didja miss me? « raincoaster 2006
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Ben#17…a close friend of mine is in the same boat as your sister…and I agree….but notice—you even stated “could”…….that is what is the problem for most people…..could…I hope “will” can replace “could”….
Think Progress » Bush Administration Invents New Excuse To Oppose Embryonic Stem Cell Research 2006
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But a moment's further consideration convinced him that it could not be so: he _could_ move his body a little, although when he tried to sit up, something stopped him, pulled his spine straight, pulled his arms and shoulders back down from where he'd raised them.
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From her promise once given she felt no change of purpose could absolve her; and therefore rarely would she give it absolutely, for she _could not_ alter the thing that had gone forth from her lips.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 17, No. 104, June, 1866 Various
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She could not -- _could_ not -- go to Paris with this man, who for all his devotion was a stranger to her.
The Making of a Soul Kathlyn Rhodes
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She did not wish to tell a falsehood, and yet she felt that she could not, _could_ not confess now.
Ruth Arnold or, the Country Cousin Lucy Byerley
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