This is an All Ears English Podcast, Episode 2296.
Can you understand this English grammar?
Welcome to the All Ears English Podcast, downloaded more than 200 million times.
Are you feeling stuck with your English?
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And Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer, coming to you from Arizona and Colorado, USA.
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How do you know when to use can and when to use could?
This grammar is all over the English language.
Listen in today to get some real tips and tricks to remember in any conversation.
Hello, Lindsay. How are you today?
Excellent Aubrey. How's everything going on?
What's going on in Arizona?
How's everything going on?
What is that? How is everything going on?
Yeah. Don't say that.
Wrong. What not to do is today's episode.
That would be a fun episode.
Actually, they don't say any of this.
Don't say that. Oh my gosh.
I have a question for you to start us out today.
What is something you can do that surprises people?
Oh my gosh. Hidden skills.
I can touch my nose with my tongue.
That might be kind of surprising.
What about you? Any hidden superpowers that you have Aubrey?
I do have a double jointed thumb, so I can like put my thumb behind the knuckles on my hand, which my son was so impressed by.
And then realized he could do it.
And now he shows everyone.
Is it genetic? That's so funny.
I love that. Wow. But this is going to be interesting.
We had a great question about can and could.
So we're going to dive into both today.
Do you want to read that question for us, Lindsay?
Yes. And we have a question here from Mohammed MJ 33 on our YouTube channel.
Guys, don't forget, Aller's English is on YouTube.
So if you prefer to watch us, go type in Aller's English, hit subscribe.
So here is Mohammed's question.
Many thanks for your podcast.
I'm feeling amazing with my American accent now.
It has helped me a lot.
And I have a question about the differences between can and could.
When we ask questions in the present tense, because I know we ask with could only in the past.
Thanks. Okay. So what is he asking exactly here?
So he's like, you know, how do I know whether to use can or could and do we only use could in the past?
So this is tricky because the first answer is no.
Yes, could is the past of can, but we also use could to be more polite.
So we're going to dive into both so that you can really understand why when you're asking questions, you would use can or could.
Yes. I'm really excited.
There's a lot of so politeness manners that goes into this, not just a grammar and tenses, right?
I'll breathe. There's a lot we think about when we decide whether we're going to use can or could.
Yes, exactly. Right.
And guys, be sure you're following the business English podcast because we are doing an episode very soon.
I have it planned. I can't wait to record it with you, Lindsey, about the difference between probably and plausibly and we could a lot in that episode.
So those could really go hand in hand.
So be sure to follow over there as well.
That's a good high level word.
Plausible. I love it.
I can't wait to talk about that.
Let's get into the first one of the day, which is can tell us about this verb.
Yeah. So it's a modal verb, right?
Which is a type of auxiliary verb that indicates ability, possibility, suggestion, or obligation.
And we use it a lot of different ways.
So we're going to first share these different ways.
The first is asking for permission.
Yes. So for example, can I borrow your pen, right?
Or can I ask you a favor?
This is asking for permission.
Love it. Exactly. And also making requests.
Can you call back later?
Can you grab me that book?
That's very subtle, the difference here, but here I'm requesting something.
Okay. Requests versus permission slightly different.
And then making offers also different.
Can I help you with anything or can we do anything for you?
Okay. Wow. It's very diverse.
Can you see it everywhere?
It's true. We use it all the time.
So many different types of questions.
Start with can also reproaching.
Can you please stop making that noise?
I say this to my children a lot.
They're or why can't you just be nice to her instead of upsetting her?
I know I said this yesterday.
Wow. Okay. So yeah, this can is everywhere.
And reproaching is also a very high level vocabulary word as a bonus for today.
Right Aubrey? Exactly.
It means like to sort of criticize lecture to sharing with someone that they are doing something they should not be doing.
And you're asking them to do something else.
You're asking them to stop doing it, but in a pretty polite way.
I love it. Much better than like, don't do that, right?
Can you please not do that?
100%. Okay, Aubrey, so we've gone through the four or five scenarios, asking permission, making requests, making offers, and reproaching where we see can, but now let's talk about could, how is it different?
Yeah. So it's not just in the past, right?
Could, it's the same meaning as can, but can is offered, often considered more informal or colloquial while could is more polite and formal.
So all of these above statements you could replace with could, and it will sound just a little bit more polite.
Could I borrow your pen?
Could I ask you a favor?
Say making requests.
Could you call back later?
Could you grab me that book?
Do these sound a little more polite to you, Lindsey?
I think so for sure.
I mean, even when I'm ordering at a restaurant, could I please have the steak um, as opposed to can I please have the steak?
It just feels better.
Feels more polite. Feels right.
Exactly. Right. Could you pass me the bread please?
As opposed to can you pass me the bread plate?
It's true. It's a little less direct, right?
And then when the server's speaking to you, now I think from a server's perspective, they have a couple of options here, but it's certainly, if they want to up level their politeness, could I get to anything else?
But I've also heard servers say, can I get you anything else?
It's just a little more casual, right?
Exactly. Right. Both are grammatically accurate.
Could it, and this is pretty slight.
It's pretty subtle.
It's just a little bit more polite, a little bit more formal.
And then we also use could to indicate possibility in both the present and the future.
So for example, you might say, we could have gone out, but we decided to stay home.
So here we're talking about, you know, what possibly could have happened.
Right. And then possibility in the future, kind of the hypothetical, you could win the lottery if you buy a ticket, right?
Could happen. It was just very high level.
I was just watching over the weekend I was staying in a hotel.
So it was always on the HGTV channel home and garden television where they have that show.
Have you seen that one where people win the lottery and then the guy takes them house shopping?
Yeah. Oh, that's fun.
I have not seen all these iterations of home buying home flipping and all these things where people have just won.
Let's like, pay a million dollars in the lottery and Oh, what do we want?
It's this whole adventure.
It's fun. Oh, that would be really fun.
I sometimes see HGTV at the dentist.
They'll, they'll be like a TV in the ceiling while I'm getting my teeth cleaned.
And it's always on HGTV.
It's so funny. There's so many shows about home buying.
It's just crazy. But speaking of new and exciting things, Aubrey, we do have something new coming that our listeners need to know about.
What is it? Yes. We are right now creating our C one fluency course.
And I'm getting more and more excited about it as I help create these activities, do the interviews with some amazing people.
This is going to be a fantastic course.
Oh my gosh. We use the connection method in this course, which means we interview real native speakers.
We bring you the real English.
We don't tell them what to say.
We ask them questions.
We have conversations.
And then we find the real English for you.
So that is the connection method, which is unique in this industry.
I think most English courses, even today, they just teach the language that they think is the real English, but it's not always real.
Right. Yes. That's very common that it's scripted because they're trying to, you know, teach this interesting language and it makes it feel less natural.
We're trying to show you the nuanced, colorful, sophisticated language that naturally comes out of conversations with interesting people.
Yeah. So we go to the native speakers, we have chats.
Then we see what you guys need to know and learn and be able to do based on what comes out of those conversations.
Plus we've added a lot of new speaking opportunities.
Aubrey open conversation club is the place to be these days.
They're amazing. We have it every week.
Anyone who is, um, in one of our courses is able to attend.
And it's so fun. We go into break rooms and have conversations in small groups.
And then in large groups in the lobby, such a great opportunity to meet speaking partners and practice speaking English and fluency parties as well.
Every month with me and you, Lindsey, those are so fun.
Also super fun. And when you're in these, any of our courses, you are invited to these speaking opportunities.
So guys get on the list, Aubrey, where can they go to get on the access list?
Well, the, the invite list.
Yes. Go to allersenglish .com slash C one.
That's a letter C number one to get on the early list so that you don't miss it.
Yes. Go over there.
Guys, allersenglish .com slash C one sign up now.
All right, Aubrey, let's talk about the past tense and how we use could in the past tense.
Tell us about this.
He's like, I know, you know, could is for the past tense and he's not wrong.
It's not only for past like we shared.
It's also the more polite version of can, but it's also the past tense of can.
So could is used to refer to something that was generally possible or an ability that someone had in the past.
For example, when I was younger, I could lift weights without being sore the next day.
Right. So I'm saying that I can't do this now.
I could do it in the past.
Yeah. Talking about ability in the past again.
So another way to say that when I was younger, I was able to lift weights without being sore the next day.
Yes. Same meaning. Good.
And then another example, when we first met, we could talk for hours on the phone.
So we were able to, meaning what we had a lot in common.
Right. Exactly. Right.
We would talk for hours.
Someone will say would or could, but if we like right now, can I talk for hours on the phone harder?
I could in the past.
Right. Right. Totally.
I love that. So yeah.
So clearly can, could very diverse used in a lot of parts of English Aubrey.
Right. Yes. You'll hear it now that we've highlighted.
I challenge you guys to listen this week.
How many times do here can and could in conversations and you're going to realize it's used in all of these different ways.
It is a very diverse, like you said, so we're going to see it all now broken down into a role play where you and I are reminiscing about our childhood summers.
Ah, yes. That sounds like fun.
What a fun connection skill.
Right. I love that.
When I was a kid, I could run around all day and never get tired.
Same. I can't do that.
Now. Did you hang out with friends a lot in your neighborhood?
Oh yeah. We'd go to the neighbors and say, can Marie come out and play?
Same. We'd all play in the backyard until my mom would come out and say, can you please stop making such a racket?
And then the backyard would be a disaster and we'd have to clean it up.
My friends were pretty good about asking how they could help though.
Yeah. Oh gosh, I missed those days.
Did you build forts?
Right. Did you build forts?
Did you? Oh yes. We have really cool backyard with lots of trees.
And so we would build a fort in the cover of the giant bushes.
Oh, so fun. So fun.
And just so much running around, you know, just being outdoors.
I miss it. Just going out to be outside and to run around.
That was the one agenda, right?
Exactly. That was really, that's really what I miss having nothing else on my to -do list, but play, run around and play.
And you said earlier, Aubrey, this is a connection skill.
I think this majorly is a connection skill.
This is a conversation any of our listeners could have with each other, with a native speaker reminiscing.
Absolutely. Reminisce about your childhood.
Everyone has nostalgia, right?
And people are going to share and you'll really get a glimpse into what their youth was like.
Yeah. That's true. Because if they grew up in New York City, it would be probably pretty different.
And maybe you're building forts in central park, I don't know.
Maybe in your living room with blankets.
Right. With also good, also good.
So let's go through this.
So first we use the past tense with could, right?
We said, I said, you said, when I was a kid, I could run around all day and never get tired.
Meaning, you were able to, because you had energy, right?
Yeah. So like I can do this now.
I could do this in the past, just the past tense of can.
And then you said, same.
I can't do that now.
This is the version of can that's indicating ability.
You could say, I couldn't do that now.
And that is also present tense saying I'm not able to do that.
Yeah. And this could be really pointing to a lot of different abilities.
You could be saying now I wouldn't have the time or I wouldn't have the physical energy or I wouldn't have the interest.
So we could be saying a lot of things here.
Good point. With the same phrase, right?
You could ask them like, oh, are you just so busy?
Or yeah, you might want to dive into that.
Like, why can't you or you're just not a child anymore?
Exactly. And that could be another pivot point of this conversation.
Another direction our listeners could take this in, right?
Really cool. Exactly.
Yes. And then you said, you know, oh, we'd go to the neighbors and say, and this, you're sort of narrating what the neighbor would say, say, can Marie come out and play or what you would say to the neighbor rather.
And this is that permission or request very similar here, asking permission for Marie to come and play or requesting for her to come and play.
I love that. And then we're getting to reproaching, right?
We'd say we'd all play in the backyard until my mom would come out and say, can you please stop making such a racket?
Right? Yes. Did your mom say racket for really loud noise?
You're making such a racket.
I don't think she did, but she did speak in that tone of voice.
Can you please stop doing her?
Yeah. I'm curious if this is something like a regional dialect thing.
I'm curious if you guys hear racket.
I grew up, this is a common word in the Northeast, in the Northwest.
Yeah. No, I could see that.
Yay. Well, we had our own.
Yeah. We like, for example, I could see, you know, our mom are approaching us.
If we're kicking the seat in the car, can you please stop kicking the seat?
Right. I still reproach my children for that.
I bet the back of my seat.
Exactly. And then I said, my friends were pretty good about asking how they could help.
And we said the backyard would be a disaster.
We'd have to clean it up.
And this is making offers.
That's that category.
So, offering to help, like how could we help or how can we help?
And same, same meaning one would just be a little more polite.
Kids are probably more likely to say, how can I help?
Yes. I love that. So, we do have another episode.
Let's just share one of them with our listeners here, Aubrey.
Which one do you think would be the best one for them to go check out, to dig deeper into?
So, we have had a lot of interesting episodes where we teach phrases, chunks that we use with can or could.
So, one you could check out is 2127.
We couldn't be more excited about this episode.
So, there are chunks like that, that we also use could with, right?
And they need to be used word for word.
So, go check that episode out.
And what I love about learning the chunks, I mean, you need to learn the categories and the grammar too.
And today was more about that.
But learning the chunks is just such an autopilot way of learning it because then it just flows off your tongue.
Exactly. Yes. Right.
It sounds so native and natural when you use that whole expression, for sure.
Yes. I love it. What's the takeaway today for our listeners for connection?
Yeah. Can and could are everywhere in the English language, right?
It is very high level to understand all of the different ways that we're using them.
But today's tips can help you really connect about childhood, about what you were able to do when you were young, that you can't do now.
What a fun thing to chat about.
Exactly. No matter how you're defining that could, were you able to, you had the energy to, you wanted to.
There's a lot of things you can reflect on about your past that probably, especially if you're talking with someone of the same age, you're going to find that you have that common point.
And then you're off to the races to connection.
Right? Yes. Absolutely.
Right. So use can and could to connect, use them for all of, in all of these different ways, right?
Making requests, asking permission, reproaching.
It's a, you're going to start seeing and hearing these words everywhere.
All right. Sounds good.
Aubrey, thanks for being on the show today.
And guys, don't forget, be ready when the C one course goes live.
You want to be on that list.
So go to all ears, english .com slash C one.
And we'll see over there.
Yes. Awesome. We'll see you in the C one course.
Yes. I can't wait. It's going to be good.
Aubrey, have a good day.
Talk soon. Thanks. Thanks for listening to all ears English.
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