What is the difference between "He's a doctor, he can be very busy" and "She studied hard, she could have done well on the test"?

Can or could? That is the question of this Grammar 101 article where we explain the difference between these two commonly misused words. Read on here. Apr 25, 2023 ... Could is another modal verb that is used in a similar way to can. Could is used to: talk about past ability; talk about past possibility; make ... Oct 14, 2012 ... 'Can' essentially indicates ability. Usually it's used for general ability, although nowadays more and more people also use it to indicate permission. “Could” vs. “Can” · Can is used when referring to something with a strong possibility or occurring, whereas could is used to refer to something that has a weak ... Sep 19, 2024 ... The primary difference is that “can” refers to present abilities or permissions, while “could” refers to past abilities or hypothetical ... Jul 31, 2024 ... Understanding the Difference between Forgiveness and Reconciliation Could Change your Life ... This act of trusting God can take place in the ... Feb 22, 2022 ... We show that a bounded drift diffusion model (DDM) can explain both effects with variable parameters: trial-to-trial variability in the starting ... Mar 12, 2010 ... “Can you” is the most casual, “could you” is more polite and “would you” is the most formal and polite. Aug 11, 2002 ... Calvin Trillin writes about a test designed to determine whether wine drinkers can tell the difference between red and white only by taste ... Jun 16, 2023 ... "Could" is the past tense form of "can" and is also used as a more polite alternative in the present tense. It indicates the ability, permission, or ...