Grammar 1 - can
Affirmative and negative Questions Short answers
I can Can I Yes, I can.
You you you
He / She / It swim. he / she / it swim? he / she / it
We Where we we
can’t can No, can’t.
They When whey they
Note: We use can and can’t to talk about ability, possibility, and permission in the present.
VOCABULARY
Disabilities: deaf, blind, paraplegic, use a wheelchair
Abilities: fly, be strong, become invisible, do acrobatics, swim, play basketball, write, dance, climb, hear, see
A Correct the mistakes in the sentences.
1 Daredevil can’t sees, but he uses other super powers to fight his enemies.
2 Can Ironman live without his mechanical heart? No, he doesn’t.
3 Hawkeye can’t to hear because he’s deaf.
4 Professor X can walk and has to use a wheelchair.
B Complete the information about Evelyn Glennie with can or can’t.
Evelyn Glennie is a solo percussionist in classical music. Evelyn is also completely deaf. How (1)
she play percussion instruments when she (2) hear? First, she (3) see the conductor.
Second, she doesn’t wear shoes, and she (4) feel the vibrations of the music through the floor.
She (5) hear when she plays an incorrect note; however, she knows it’s wrong because she knows
where her fingers should be on the instrument.
C Write three things you can do and three things you can’t.
can can’t
1 I can 1 I can’t
2 2
3 3
D.R. © Macmillan Publishers, S.A. de C.V. 2014. Only for teaching purposes.
Grammar 1 - could
Function Example
I could swim when I was four years old.
Past ability
John couldn’t cook when he was a teenager.
After I passed my biology exam I knew I could study science at college.
Past possibility
Eric couldn’t study medicine because his grades weren’t good enough.
The teacher said we could finish the exercise at home.
Past permission
At school we couldn’t use our cell phones in class.
I could get a job as a surfing instructor.
Future possibility
Tom could win the competition; he’s one of the best surfers.
Requests Could I see your identification, please?
Note: To express past ability, possibility, or permission, use could. Could is the past form of can.
My friend can’t play the piano. (present ability)
I could play the piano when I was five. (past ability)
VOCABULARY
A legend on water: amputee, champion, continue to travel, courageous, do charity work, give up her dream, lost her left arm,
professional competitor, return to the water, shark attack, suffered a terrible incident, survivor, talented surfer, win first place
A Complete the sentences with words from the box.
disabled participated accident amputated achievement pool give up
Natalie du Toit is from South African. As a child Natalie was an excellent swimmer. When she was fourteen,
she started competing internationally. Unfortunately, three years later in 2001, she was in a car
(1) and her leg was (2) below the knee. However, Natalie knew that she
couldn´t (3) on her swimming career. Less than three months later she was back in the
swimming (4) and soon she was competing as a (5) athlete. In the 2004
Paralympics she won one silver and five gold medals in various swimming events and four years later in 2008
she won five more gold medals. However, perhaps her greatest (6) was that she was also one
of two Paralympics’ athletes to compete in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in China, where she obtained
16th place in the 10km swimming event. In the history of the Olympic Games, only ten Paralympians have also
(7) in the Olympic Games. In 2012, Natalie retired from the sport after competing in the
Paralympics in London.
B Match the sentence halves.
1 Could you help me a ) couldn’t get into my house.
2 Mozart could play the piano and b) replace school books.
3 I wanted to go to the beach last c ) with my homework?
4 I lost my keys and d) weekend but my father said I couldn´t go.
5 In the future, tablets could e ) the violin when he was five years old.
D.R. © Macmillan Publishers, S.A. de C.V. 2014. Only for teaching purposes.
