How might 'could' express a past belief about what was achievable?

Mar 10, 2025 ... On the spectrum of certainty and politeness, “can” is the most direct, “could” adds a layer of politeness or uncertainty, and “would” is often ... Can, could, and be able to are all used to talk about a person's ability to do something. You use can or be able to to talk about ability in the present. Be ... Aug 15, 2023 ... Wearing a life jacket can help limit fatalities as U.S. Army Corps of Engineer (USACE) data shows that 89 percent of drowning victims are not ... Jul 8, 2022 ... The Primary Difference Between Can and Could · Can: Indicates strong present ability or strong possibility. You can park across the street. It ... Mar 23, 2023 ... Can is used to refer to someone's ability in the present tense, whereas could is used in the past tense. Can also implies that something is very likely to ... "Can" is generally used for present abilities or possibilities, while "could" is used for past abilities, polite requests, or hypothetical situations. In this blog post, you'll learn the usage of the modal verbs can and could and understand the difference between them. These auxiliary verbs are essential ... Do you know the differences between two modal verbs ~ can vs could in English? Check the lesson below and find out what the differences are! Dec 5, 2021 ... In terms of common US usage and personal intent, the two words are used interchangeably in this case. · “Could” is the past tense of the word “ ... Aug 20, 2022 ... There is no difference in meaning between “can you please” and “could you please”. Actually, sentences that begin with 'could', 'should', or ' ...