Can Vs Could and (be) able to
We use Can to say that something is possible
or that somebody has ability to do something.
We can
see the sun in the morning
Can
you speak Bahasa Indonesia?
The negative is can’t ( can not)
I can’t
swim
(Be) able to… is possible instead of can,
but can is more usual
Are you
able to swim?
Could is the past form of Can
I could read when I was a kid
I could read when I was a kid
Exercises
Complete the sentence using can or be able
to
1. George has studied four languages. He……………..speak
multi-languages
2. Sandra was…………….drive but she hasn’t got a car
3. My brother ……………draw very well
4. There was a fire but, every body was…………………….escape
5. I ……………. Meet Dina on friday
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Subject
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Object
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Possessive adjectives
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Possessive pronouns
|
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I
|
me
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my
|
Mine
|
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You
|
you
|
your
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Yours
|
|
He
|
him
|
his
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His
|
|
She
|
her
|
her
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Hers
|
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It
|
it
|
its
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Its
|
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We
|
us
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our
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Ours
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They
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them
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their
|
theirs
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Possessive adjective comes in front of noun
We can use a
possessive pronoun instead of a noun phrase:
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Is that John’s dog?
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No, it’s [
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>
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No, it’s mine.
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|
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Whose bag is this?
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Is it [
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>
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Is it yours?
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|
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Her bag is
grey, [
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Her bag is grey,
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mine is brown.
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We can use possessive
pronouns after of.
We can say:
Joko is one of my
friends.
or
Hary is a friend of mine.
but not
Hary is a friend of me
or
Hary is a friend of mine.
but not
or
I am one of Syahrini's
friends.
or
I am a friend of Syahrini's.
but not
I am a friend of Syahrini
or
I am a friend of Syahrini's.
but not
Determiners
are
words which come at the beginning of the noun phrase.
They
tell us whether the noun phrase is specific or general.
Determiners
are either specific or general
Specific determiners:
The
specific determiners are:
- the definite article: the
- possessives: my, your, his, her, its; our, their, whose
- demonstratives: this, that, these, those
- interrogatives: which
We
use a specific determiner when we believe the listener/reader
knows exactly what we are referring to:
Can
you pass me the sauce please?
Look at those lovely cats.
I bring your letter.
Whose pencil is this?
Look at those lovely cats.
I bring your letter.
Whose pencil is this?
General determiners:
The
general determiners are:
- a; an; any; another; other; what
When
we are talking about things in general and the listener/reader does not know
exactly what we are referring to, we can use a uncount noun or a plural
noun with no determiner:
Milk
is
very good for children. (= uncount noun)
money and education are very important. (= 2 uncount nouns)
Girls normally do better in school than boys. (= plural nouns with no determiner)
money and education are very important. (= 2 uncount nouns)
Girls normally do better in school than boys. (= plural nouns with no determiner)
…
or you can use a singular noun with the indefinite article a or an:
A
woman was
trapped in a broken building.
A man climbing nearby saw the accident.
A man climbing nearby saw the accident.
We
use the general determiner any with a singular noun or an
uncount noun when we are talking about all of those people or things:
It’s
very fun. Any child laughs loudly. (= All children laugh)
With a full licence you are allowed to drive any car.
I like beef, lamb, chicken. - any meat.
With a full licence you are allowed to drive any car.
I like beef, lamb, chicken. - any meat.
We
use the general determiner another to talk about an additional
person or thing:
Would
you like another glass of juice?
The
plural form of another is other:
I
spoke to John, Helen and a few other friends.
Quantifiers
We
use quantifiers when we want to give someone information about the number
of something: how much or how many.
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