Difference Between Can And Could With Examples. But its not just the past tense of can. The word can in its most common form means to be able to do something.
I can speak Spanish. Can I help you. Alcohol can cause cancer.
To express ability or inability.
To give permission to do something. The word could is a form of the word can but the two are used in very different contexts. When I was 20 I could play the Saxophone 3 Could is also used as a more polite form or conditional form of can. In other instances could is a modal verb used to denote possibility.
