CAN / CAN'T FOR ABILITY

Grammar: can/can't

for ability

Open your Mind, Unit 7

Lcda. Silda Nicté de León Calderón

Draw

Match the pictures to people's statements about their pets.

1. Which answer uses can with no change?
2. In which answer is the main verb used without to?
3. Which answer is NOT correct?

TIP: Can never changes.

b

a

Can she
speak
English?

Yes, she can speak
English.

Yes, she cans to
speak English.

a

a

b

X

CAN/CAN’T—ABILITY

Other examples using can:

• Can you swim? Yes, I can. / No, I can’t.

• I can speak English, but I can’t speak Chinese.

• Maria canrun fast.

• Marco can’t drive.

CAN/CAN’T—ABILITY

Yes, they can. It’s too loud!

Can they hear
the music?

After can, we use another verb.
We don’t use _ _ before the main verb.
The contraction of cannot is _ _ _ ’ _.

main verb

No, they can’t. It’s too quiet!

auxiliary verb

t o

c a n t

CAN/CAN’T—ABILITY

Affirmative

Negative
Yes/No

questions

I can run fast.

I can’t run fast.

You can sing.

You can’t sing.

Can you sing?
Yes, I can. / No,
I can’t (cannot).

He/She/It can

swim.

He/She/It can’t

swim.

Can he/she/it

swim?

Yes, he/she/it

can. / No,

he/she/it can’t

(cannot).

We can play the

guitar.

We can’t play

the guitar.

They can speak

several languages.

They can’t speak

several

languages.

Can they speak

several

languages?

Yes, they can. /
No, they can’t

(cannot).

CAN/CAN’T—ABILITY

Can you run fast?
Yes, I can. / No, I

can’t (cannot).

Can you play the

guitar?

Yes, we can. / No,
we can’t (cannot).

Short answers

1. _ I can to speak English.

_ I can speak English.

2. _ She can swim.

_ She cans swim.

3. Can you drive?

_ Yes, I drive.

_ Yes, I can.

4. _ Can he plays football?

_ Can he play football?

Watch Out!

CAN/CAN’T—ABILITY

​Yes, he can.

My horse can play soccer! he's really talented!

My parrot can't talk, but he can draw. He draws pictures with colored pencils.

Our dog, Muffin, can balance things on his nose. It's very funny.

After reading the statements and analyzing a little, choose the correct option for each sentence.

Multiple Choice

After can, we use...

• a verb

• a noun

Multiple Choice

The contraction of cannot is...

• can't

• cant

Multiple Choice

The correct form after He/She/It is...

• can

• cans

Different forms and usages of can