Can en anglais : grammaire anglaise / définition
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Can
L'auxiliaire can correspond au verbe 'pouvoir' en français. Il permet d'exprimer :
• La capacité :
• La capacité :
I can swim. Je peux nager. (ou Je sais nager.)
• La possibilité, la vraisemblance :
This place can be dangerous. Cet endroit peut être dangereux.
It can't be him. Ça ne peut pas être lui.
• La permission, dans une langue familière (may est préférable) :
Can I leave now? Est-ce que je peux partir maintenant?
Remarques :
• Au passé et autres perfects, on utilise could ou was/were able to :
• Au passé et autres perfects, on utilise could ou was/were able to :
I couldn't finish the report before the deadline. Je n'ai pas pu terminer le rapport avant la date limite.
• Au futur, on emploie will be able to :
By the end of the year, he'll be able to speak fluently. D'ici la fin de l'année il pourra parler couramment.
Exercice 1
Icarus: Luckily, I avoid a traffic jam this morning when I came to work.
Polly: That is truly fascinating. I hardly wait to hear more. Unfortunately, I must go.
Polly: That is truly fascinating. I hardly wait to hear more. Unfortunately, I must go.
Icarus: Luckily, I was able to 1 avoid a traffic jam this morning when I came to work.
Polly: That is truly fascinating. I can 2 hardly wait to hear more. Unfortunately, I must go.
Polly: That is truly fascinating. I can 2 hardly wait to hear more. Unfortunately, I must go.
1 was able to: We use 'was able to' here because the verb in the second clause (came) is in the past tense. This is the best choice here.
1 can: We cannot use 'can' here because the verb in the second clause (came) is in the past tense, and 'can' cannot express past actions.
2 can: 'I can hardly wait' is a common idiom in English meaning 'I am impatient and eager'. Polly is using it sarcastically. This is the best choice here.
2 am able to: 'I am able to hardly wait' does not make sense.
Exercice 2
In the sentences below, choose the verb which belongs in the blank: either 'be able to' or 'can'. Remember to use the correct tense!
I get to the show before they closed the doors, but my girlfriend had already left.
He take a long walk off a short pier for all I care.
Not many people believe me when I tell them I eat twenty-five hot dogs in less than an hour, but it's true.
Hopefully, Willy will leave the hospital soon.
This next question be about business if you'd like.
I get to the show before they closed the doors, but my girlfriend had already left.
He take a long walk off a short pier for all I care.
Not many people believe me when I tell them I eat twenty-five hot dogs in less than an hour, but it's true.
Hopefully, Willy will leave the hospital soon.
This next question be about business if you'd like.
In the sentences below, choose the verb which belongs in the blank: either 'be able to' or 'can'. Remember to use the correct tense!
I was able to 1 get to the show before they closed the doors, but my girlfriend had already left.
He can 2 take a long walk off a short pier for all I care.
Not many people believe me when I tell them I can 3 eat twenty-five hot dogs in less than an hour, but it's true.
Hopefully, Willy will be able to 4 leave the hospital soon.
This next question can 5 be about business if you'd like.
I was able to 1 get to the show before they closed the doors, but my girlfriend had already left.
He can 2 take a long walk off a short pier for all I care.
Not many people believe me when I tell them I can 3 eat twenty-five hot dogs in less than an hour, but it's true.
Hopefully, Willy will be able to 4 leave the hospital soon.
This next question can 5 be about business if you'd like.
1 was able to: We use 'was able to' here because the verb in the second clause (had left) is in the past tense. This is the best choice here.
1 can: We cannot use 'can' here because the verb in the second clause (had left) is in the past tense.
2 can: We use 'can' here because the speaker is expressing an indirect desire (not very nice one) that the subject of the sentence should walk off a pier. A 'pier' is a structure that goes from land out into a body of water, it is synonymous with a 'jetty'.
2 is able to: Although it may be grammatically correct to use 'is able to' here, it does not make sense.
3 can: We use 'can' here to show that the speaker 'is able to' eat so many hot dogs.
3 am able: We cannot use 'be able' here because it lacks the preposition 'to'.
4 be able to: We use 'be able to' here because it agrees with the auxiliary 'will'. This is the best choice here.
4 can: We cannot use 'can' here because it follows the future auxiliary 'will'.
5 can: We use 'can' here because it expresses the possibility that the next question 'can be' about business. This is the best choice here.
5 is able to: We cannot use 'is able to' here because this construction does not express capacity or ability. We are trying to express the possibility that the question's subject can be about business.
Exercice 3
Bob: Hey Soph, you change the channel on the TV for me? I lost the remote and I don't feel like getting up.
Sophie: Robert William Carter! you really be that lazy?
Bob: Oh, come on. I had a long day at work today. I'm exhausted.
Sophie: Fine, fine. But I doubt that your day have been as awful as mine.
Bob: I had a fight with one of the test monkeys!
Sophie: Well, I to perform heart surgery on a 90-year-old woman in the dark because the hospital lost power!
Bob: You win. I'll change the channel.
Sophie: Robert William Carter! you really be that lazy?
Bob: Oh, come on. I had a long day at work today. I'm exhausted.
Sophie: Fine, fine. But I doubt that your day have been as awful as mine.
Bob: I had a fight with one of the test monkeys!
Sophie: Well, I to perform heart surgery on a 90-year-old woman in the dark because the hospital lost power!
Bob: You win. I'll change the channel.
Bob: Hey Soph, can 1 you change the channel on the TV for me? I lost the remote and I don't feel like getting up.
Sophie: Robert William Carter! Can 2 you really be that lazy?
Bob: Oh, come on. I had a long day at work today. I'm exhausted.
Sophie: Fine, fine. But I doubt that your day could 3 have been as awful as mine.
Bob: I had a fight with one of the test monkeys!
Sophie: Well, I had 4 to perform heart surgery on a 90-year-old woman in the dark because the hospital lost power!
Bob: You win. I'll change the channel.
Sophie: Robert William Carter! Can 2 you really be that lazy?
Bob: Oh, come on. I had a long day at work today. I'm exhausted.
Sophie: Fine, fine. But I doubt that your day could 3 have been as awful as mine.
Bob: I had a fight with one of the test monkeys!
Sophie: Well, I had 4 to perform heart surgery on a 90-year-old woman in the dark because the hospital lost power!
Bob: You win. I'll change the channel.
1 can: This is the best choice here. Bob is simply asking Sophie to change the channel. 'Can' is often used in informal speech to ask if someone 'would please' do something.
1 may: Although it is not grammatically incorrect, 'may' is not appropriate here. The action of 'changing the channel on the TV' is quite informal. 'May' is usually found in more formal dialogues (professional telephone conversations, for example).
1 do: Although it is not grammatically incorrect, 'do' does not make sense here. 'Do you change the channel on the TV for me?' asks if Sophie performs the action of changing the channel, in a very strange way.
1 make: 'Make' is grammatically incorrect here. We could say, however: 'I'll make you change the channel', but this is quite silly.
2 Can: This is the best choice here. Sophie is asking Bob if he is so lazy that he cannot even get up to change the channel on the TV. 'Can you really be that lazy?' is an exaggerated form of the more simple question: 'Are you really that lazy?' We use 'can' in this case to emphasize the disbelief.
2 Can't: We cannot use the negative construction 'Can't' to ask this question, we must use an affirmative construction instead.
2 Are: 'Are' is grammatically incorrect. We cannot use the auxiliary 'be' when the sentence already uses another form of 'be'.
2 Aren't: 'Aren't' is grammatically incorrect. We cannot use the auxiliary 'be' when the sentence already uses another form of 'be'.
3 could: This is the best choice here. In the past tense, 'can' is replaced with 'could'. In this case, we are using the present perfect tense (have + been), and because this tense indicates a relationship with the past, we must use 'could'.
3 will be able to: 'Will be able to have been' is grammatically incorrect. We cannot combine the future tense (will be able to) with the present perfect (have been).
3 is: 'Is have been' is grammatically incorrect.
3 shall: 'Shall have been' has a similar meaning to 'will have been', which is the future perfect tense. There is no reason to refer to the future in this context. Also, note that 'shall' is mostly used to emphasize the speaker's intention, so is especially unnatural here. Example: 'I shall master the English language! I am determined to do so!'.
4 had: This is the best choice here. To express necessity or obligation in the past, we use 'had to'. Because Sophie is talking about her day at work which has already ended, we know that we must use the preterit 'had'.
4 have: Because we are talking about the past, it is doesn't make sense to use a present tense verb (have).
4 must: 'Must' cannot be used to express necessity or obligation in the past. We use 'needed' or 'had to' to express this idea in the past.
4 need: 'Need' cannot be used to express necessity in the past, unless it is conjugated in the appropriate tense (needed to).
Exercice 4
Jeremiah had a lot of trouble studying for his test last night. He concentrate because the alien spaceships were finally landing in his neighborhood. It probably doesn't matter. Once the aliens take over the planet, the history of the French Fifth Republic won't be very important. He had always wanted to study lasers, but his parents said he was an idiot. 'What you do with lasers?' they would ask him. 'Well, I'll defend myself against the alien invaders,' he said. Then his parents just laughed. But they're not laughing any more. The aliens have turned them into mashed potatoes.
Jeremiah had a lot of trouble studying for his test last night. He couldn't 1 concentrate because the alien spaceships were finally landing in his neighborhood. It probably doesn't matter. Once the aliens take over the planet, the history of the French Fifth Republic won't be very important. He had always wanted to study lasers, but his parents said he was an idiot. 'What can 2 you do with lasers?' they would ask him. 'Well, I'll be able to 3 defend myself against the alien invaders,' he said. Then his parents just laughed. But they're not laughing any more. The aliens have turned them into mashed potatoes.
1 couldn't: This is the best choice here. 'Could' is often used as the preterit form of the verb 'to be able to' or 'can'. We know that we need to use the past tense here because we are talking about 'last night'.
1 can't: We cannot use 'can' in the past tense.
1 shouldn't: 'Shouldn't' doesn't make sense here. 'Should' is typically used as a suggestion or a warning. For example: 'You shouldn't study history if you want to kill aliens'.
1 isn't able to: We cannot use 'is able to' in the past tense.
2 can: This is the best choice. Because the question is asked in the present tense, and in the affirmative form, we use 'can' here.
2 are able to: 'What are able to you do?' is grammatically incorrect. We would have to say: 'What are you able to do?'.
2 should: 'Should' doesn't make sense here. 'Should' is typically used as a suggestion or a warning. For example: 'You shouldn't play with lasers, you could get hurt'.
2 may: 'May' does not make sense here. 'May' is typically used as a form of politeness.
3 be able to: This is the best choice here. Because we are using the future construction 'I will', we have to use 'be able to' instead of 'can'.
3 can: 'Can' cannot be used in future tense constructions.
3 could: 'Could' cannot be used in future tense constructions. 'Could' is the preterit form of 'can'.
3 may: 'May' cannot be used in future tense constructions. Often, however, 'may' already carries a sense of future.
Exercice 5
Luna: Hi, Horatio. I ask you a question?
Horatio: No.
Luna: Great! I was wondering if you able to fix my chair yet?
Horatio: No.
Luna: That's ok. you want to drink some tea with me?
Horatio: No.
Horatio: No.
Luna: Great! I was wondering if you able to fix my chair yet?
Horatio: No.
Luna: That's ok. you want to drink some tea with me?
Horatio: No.
Luna: Hi, Horatio. Can 1 I ask you a question?
Horatio: No.
Luna: Great! I was wondering if you were 2 able to fix my chair yet?
Horatio: No.
Luna: That's ok. Do 3 you want to drink some tea with me?
Horatio: No.
Horatio: No.
Luna: Great! I was wondering if you were 2 able to fix my chair yet?
Horatio: No.
Luna: That's ok. Do 3 you want to drink some tea with me?
Horatio: No.
1 Can: This is the best choice here. 'Can I ask you a question?' is a proper interrogative form which asks for permission to pose a question. Note: 'May I ask a question' expresses the same meaning more politely and more accurately, but 'Can I ask you a question?' is acceptable and very common.
1 Am I able to: This is incorrect. Luna is not questioning her capacity to ask a question, but she is simply asking for permission to pose it.
1 Should: This is incorrect. In the interrogative form, 'should' is used to ask for advice or someone's opinion. If Luna were to ask 'should I ask you a question?' she would be asking herself if it is good idea to ask this question, which is very unlikely.
2 were: We use the past tense form 'were able to' because of the presence of 'yet' at the end of the phrase. 'Yet' tells us that Luna is asking about whether Horatio made an attempt to fix her chair in the past.
2 are: We cannot use the present tense form of the verb 'to be able' here because of the presence of 'yet' at the end of the sentence, which indicates that this event took place in the past.
2 was: We cannot use 'was able to' here because Luna is addressing Horatio directly, in the second person form. In the conditional tense, we must use 'were able' in this construction.
2 is: We cannot use the present tense form of the verb 'to be able' here because of the presence of 'yet' at the end of the sentence, which indicates that this event took place in the past. Also, 'is able' is the third person form of the verb, and Luna addressing Horatio in the second person (you).
3 Do: This is the best choice here. When asking a question about desire (with the verb 'to want') we use the auxiliary 'do' to pose the question correctly. Note that the verb which follows 'want' is put in the infinitive form (Do you want TO DRINK some tea with me?).
3 Are: We cannot use 'are' to ask this question. 'Are' is a form of the verb 'to be', which has no place in this construction, because this question is about Horatio's desire to drink tea with Luna.
3 Can: The construction 'can you want...' is grammatically incorrect. In the interrogative form, 'can' is used to ask for permission or capacity, never desire.
3 Could: Although this choice is grammatically correct, it is very unlikely that Luna would ask 'Could you want to drink some tea'. This construction would express that Luna was asking IF there was a possibility that Horatio would want to drink some tea with her. This is complicated conditional construction which is illogical and needlessly existential.
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