Hvað er það?
Can, can’t, could og couldn’t eru hjálparsagnir (modal verbs).
Þær eru notaðar til að tala um:
- núverandi getu
- fyrri getu
- leyfi
- beiðnir
- möguleika
Can er jákvæða formið.
- I can swim.
Can’t er stytting á cannot.
- I can’t drive.
Could er oft notað fyrir fyrri getu eða kurteisar beiðnir.
- She could read when she was four.
- Could you help me?
Couldn’t er stytting á could not.
- We couldn’t find the address.
Hvenær á að nota
Notaðu can fyrir núverandi getu.
- He can speak English.
- I can cook.
Notaðu can’t þegar einhver getur ekki gert eitthvað.
- She can’t swim.
- We can’t come today.
Notaðu can til að biðja um eða veita leyfi.
- Can I use your phone?
- You can leave early.
Notaðu could fyrir almenna getu í fortíð.
- I could run fast when I was younger.
- They could speak French as children.
Notaðu couldn’t fyrir skort á getu eða misheppnaðar aðstæður í fortíð.
- He couldn’t read the sign.
- We couldn’t open the door.
Notaðu can eða could til að setja fram beiðnir.
- Can you close the window?
- Could you close the window?
Could er venjulega kurteisara en can í beiðnum.
Uppbygging
Notaðu grunnform sagnarinnar á eftir can, can’t, could og couldn’t.
| Form | Uppbygging | Dæmi |
|---|---|---|
| Nútíð jákvætt | frumlag + can + grunnsögn | She can drive. |
| Nútíð neikvætt | frumlag + can’t + grunnsögn | She can’t drive. |
| Fortíð jákvætt | frumlag + could + grunnsögn | She could drive at eighteen. |
| Fortíð neikvætt | frumlag + couldn’t + grunnsögn | She couldn’t drive last year. |
Formið er það sama fyrir öll frumlög.
- I can swim.
- He can swim.
- They can swim.
Ekki bæta við -s á eftir he, she eða it.
Spurningar
Notaðu:
Can/Could + frumlag + grunnsögn?
| Spurningategund | Dæmi |
|---|---|
| Núverandi geta | Can you swim? |
| Leyfi | Can I sit here? |
| Beiðni | Can you help me? |
| Kurteis beiðni | Could you help me? |
| Fyrri geta | Could she read at five? |
Stutt svör
- 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.
Dæmi
- 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.
Undantekningar
Notaðu could fyrir almenna fyrri getu.
- She could play the piano when she was young.
Fyrir eina sérstaka velheppnaða aðgerð í fortíð er was able to oft eðlilegra.
- We were able to fix the problem yesterday.
Hins vegar er couldn’t eðlilegt fyrir sérstaka misheppnaða aðgerð.
- We couldn’t fix the problem yesterday.
Cannot er skrifað sem eitt orð.
- Rétt: cannot
- Rangt: can not
Formið can not er aðeins mögulegt þegar not tilheyrir öðrum orðasamböndum, en þessi notkun er sjaldgæf.
Algengar villur
-
Rangt: She cans swim. Rétt: She can swim. Skýring: Ekki bæta við -s við hjálparsagnir.
-
Rangt: I can to drive. Rétt: I can drive. Skýring: Notaðu grunnsögnina án to á eftir can.
-
Rangt: He could speaks English. Rétt: He could speak English. Skýring: Notaðu grunnformið á eftir could.
-
Rangt: Do you can help me? Rétt: Can you help me? Skýring: Ekki nota do í spurningum með can.
-
Rangt: I don’t can swim. Rétt: I can’t swim. Skýring: Notaðu can’t, ekki don’t can.
-
Rangt: She could to read at four. Rétt: She could read at four. Skýring: Ekki nota to á eftir could.
-
Rangt: Can you helped me? Rétt: Can you help me? Skýring: Notaðu grunnform sagnarinnar á eftir can.
-
Rangt: I couldn’t found my keys. Rétt: I couldn’t find my keys. Skýring: Notaðu grunnformið á eftir couldn’t.