1. Could/Can
İngilizce’de yetenek anlatmak için kullanılan ifadelerdir.
Can
Present (şimdiki/Geniş) zamanda yetenek anlatır.
I can play beautiful songs on this MP3 player.
Could
Past (Geçmiş) zamanda yetenek anlatır.
I could play beautiful songs on this MP3 player last year.
a. I can find new words when I want to write an article but I couldn’t do it when I was ten.
b. She couldn’t find a taxi last night so she got wet and had a cold.
c. My sister can speak English well but last night she couldn’t speak to the tourists.
d. My mother could sew beautiful dresses in the past. Now she has got glasses and she can’t do that.
e. Sema could write her reports yesterday but now she is very tired and she can’t write anyting.
f. My sister can do puzzles easily. She couldn’t do them when she was smaller.
g. The doctor could save the patient’s life last year.

Could / Can / Couldn’t / Can’t

1. The concert was very bad last night. The pianist ……………… play well.
2. I ……………. run very fast now but I …………… run fast when I was smaller.
3. The doctors ……………… do nothing for the patient. He died.
4. Atatürk ………………… do everything for Turkey during his life but we ……………… do anything now.
5. My cousin …………… play the violin when she was only 5.
6. It’s Children’s Day today. We …………….. do anything at the bank.
7. The cat ………………. catch the mouse yesterday. It entered a hole.
8. I …………….. find the scissors. Where are they?
9. I ………………. clean the windows but I ………….. clean the doors yesterday. The doors are dirty now.
10. …………….. you take an aspirin if you have a headache?

Answers:

1. couldn’t 2. can/couldn’t 3. could 4. could/can’t 5. could
6. can’t 7. couldn’t 8. can’t 9. could/couldn’t 10. can