Apa itu?
Can, can't, could, dan couldn't adalah kata kerja modal.
Kata kerja modal digunakan untuk membicarakan:
- kemampuan sekarang
- kemampuan masa lalu
- izin
- permintaan
- kemungkinan
Can adalah bentuk positif.
- I can swim.
Can't adalah bentuk singkat dari cannot.
- I can't drive.
Could sering digunakan untuk kemampuan masa lalu atau permintaan yang sopan.
- She could read when she was four.
- Could you help me?
Couldn't adalah bentuk singkat dari could not.
- We couldn't find the address.
Kapan digunakan
Gunakan can untuk kemampuan sekarang.
- He can speak English.
- I can cook.
Gunakan can't ketika seseorang tidak mampu melakukan sesuatu.
- She can't swim.
- We can't come today.
Gunakan can untuk meminta atau memberi izin.
- Can I use your phone?
- You can leave early.
Gunakan could untuk kemampuan umum di masa lalu.
- I could run fast when I was younger.
- They could speak French as children.
Gunakan couldn't untuk kurangnya kemampuan atau situasi yang tidak berhasil di masa lalu.
- He couldn't read the sign.
- We couldn't open the door.
Gunakan can atau could untuk membuat permintaan.
- Can you close the window?
- Could you close the window?
Could biasanya lebih sopan daripada can dalam permintaan.
Struktur
Gunakan bentuk dasar kata kerja setelah can, can't, could, dan couldn't.
| Bentuk | Struktur | Contoh |
|---|---|---|
| Positif sekarang | subject + can + kata kerja dasar | She can drive. |
| Negatif sekarang | subject + can't + kata kerja dasar | She can't drive. |
| Positif masa lalu | subject + could + kata kerja dasar | She could drive at eighteen. |
| Negatif masa lalu | subject + couldn't + kata kerja dasar | She couldn't drive last year. |
Bentuknya sama untuk setiap subjek.
- I can swim.
- He can swim.
- They can swim.
Jangan menambahkan -s setelah he, she, atau it.
Pertanyaan
Gunakan:
Can/Could + subjek + kata kerja dasar?
| Jenis pertanyaan | Contoh |
|---|---|
| Kemampuan sekarang | Can you swim? |
| Izin | Can I sit here? |
| Permintaan | Can you help me? |
| Permintaan sopan | Could you help me? |
| Kemampuan masa lalu | Could she read at five? |
Jawaban singkat
- Can you drive? — Yes, I can.
- Can he come? — No, he can't.
- Could they swim? — Yes, they could.
- Could she open it? — No, she couldn't.
Contoh
- I can speak a little Spanish.
- She can't come to work today.
- Can you help me with this box?
- Can I open the window?
- You can use my computer.
- He could swim when he was five.
- We couldn't find a taxi last night.
- Could you speak more slowly, please?
- They could not hear the announcement.
- My brother can cook very well.
Pengecualian
Gunakan could untuk kemampuan umum di masa lalu.
- She could play the piano when she was young.
Untuk satu tindakan sukses tertentu di masa lalu, was able to sering lebih alami.
- We were able to fix the problem yesterday.
Namun, couldn't alami untuk tindakan yang tidak berhasil tertentu.
- We couldn't fix the problem yesterday.
Cannot ditulis sebagai satu kata.
- Benar: cannot
- Salah: can not
Bentuk can not hanya mungkin ketika not termasuk dalam frasa lain, tetapi penggunaan ini tidak umum.
Kesalahan umum
-
Salah: She cans swim. Benar: She can swim. Penjelasan: Jangan menambahkan -s pada kata kerja modal.
-
Salah: I can to drive. Benar: I can drive. Penjelasan: Gunakan kata kerja dasar tanpa to setelah can.
-
Salah: He could speaks English. Benar: He could speak English. Penjelasan: Gunakan bentuk dasar setelah could.
-
Salah: Do you can help me? Benar: Can you help me? Penjelasan: Jangan gunakan do dalam pertanyaan dengan can.
-
Salah: I don't can swim. Benar: I can't swim. Penjelasan: Gunakan can't, bukan don't can.
-
Salah: She could to read at four. Benar: She could read at four. Penjelasan: Jangan gunakan to setelah could.
-
Salah: Can you helped me? Benar: Can you help me? Penjelasan: Gunakan bentuk dasar kata kerja setelah can.
-
Salah: I couldn't found my keys. Benar: I couldn't find my keys. Penjelasan: Gunakan bentuk dasar setelah couldn't.