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Both verbs can also be used to express the likelihood of something happening in the future tense, which is when most people often confuse the two. Can is used to describe scenarios that are more likely than not to happen, while could is used for scenarios that are less probable.
Mar 23, 2023
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Possibility. We use could have + -ed form to talk about possibility in the past: I could have been a lawyer.
Feb 17, 2017 · "Can" may be used either as future or present tense, but using "is" or "am" almost always implies present tense. One of the confusing things ...
Could, may or might convey the idea of future possibility. Of these, may expresses a stronger degree of certainty that an event will occur. For example: The ...
May 28, 2015 · It may be poisonous. Be careful with could. The negative form of could is only used for past ability, not present/future possibility! I ...
Dec 4, 2017 · Firstly, it's correct to say I couldn't be present tomorrow, but only if the pragmatic context makes sense for the listener.
First, we use could to express a possible past action that is unreal. Could expresses a possible past action that is unreal. That means something that was ...
"Could" is a modal verb used to express possibility or past ability as well as to make suggestions and requests. "Could" is also commonly used in conditional ...