Can (Options) - One Minute Grammar

Todd / United Statesflag

What can you do in the park?
Hi, everybody. This is Todd, you're teacher from elllo. And today I am in a park in Seoul, Korea. And it is a beautiful, beautiful park. 

And you can do many things in this park. You can take lovely pictures of the city. You can actually see the entire city because it's on a hill so you have a great view. You can see things here that you cannot see down on the street. And you can relax. It's quiet and you can read a book. You can stretch out on the grass. But it's kind of a nature park. So you can't play sports, you can't do exercise. 

But Korea has some great parks near the river. And the parks near the river are perfect for sports. You can run. You can ride a bike. You can play sports. You can do exercise. You can even lift weights. They have little weight machines down there and you can exercise. They have these all over Korea, actually. So you can definitely get exercise in Korea and you don't have to go to a gym. 

So the parks in Korea are fantastic. Some of the best in the world. You can do so many things in these parks. And that's one of the reasons I really, really love coming to Korea.

Can

Point 1: We use can to show options.
  1. At the mall, you can shop till midnight.
  2. You can use a pen or a pencil.
  3. You can sit anywhere you like.
  4. At the beach you can surf or swim.
Point 2: The pronoun you is used to refer to the listener and people in general.
  1. At the gym, you can do yoga.
  2. On the flight, you can watch movies.
  3. In Japan, you can eat lots of healthy food.
  4. At the airport, you can meet lots of interesting people.
Point 3: There are three ways to show the negative form on can: cannot, can not, can't.
  • On this side of the hotel, you cannot see the ocean
  • On this side of the hotel, you can not see the ocean
  • On this side of the hotel, you can't see the ocean

Note: Because can and can't sound similar when spoken quickly, even native speakers sometimes cannot tell the difference, so it is easier to hear cannot, rather than can't.

Point 4: The reduced form of can /cn/ sounds like the vowel is not spoken.
  1. You /cn/ swim.
  2. You /cn/ golf.
  3. You /cn/ not swim.
  4. You /cn/ not play sports.
Answer the following questions about the interview.

Keep Listening

Got another minute! Try these lessons.

Cover Image
3-06 Past Tense (ED)
What did you do today?
Cover Image
3-07 Past Tense (Irregular)
What did you do today?
Cover Image
3-08 Adjectives
Are you happy where you live?
Cover Image
3-09 Comparatives
When does the weather get better?
Cover Image
3-10 Superlatives
Why is Bangkok one of Asia's best cities?

Watch More Videos >>

The more you listen, the faster you improve!

ad-promo-oix

Listen to four conversations of people talking about abilities.