- Language Note
|part of speech:
||to have the ability to.
She can play the piano beautifully.Can you swim?I can't cook, so I eat out a lot.
- similar words:
||to have the power or right to.
Only the boss can hire and fire employees.
||to have permission to.
Can I come in?You can't smoke anywhere in the hospital.
||used to express the potential for something to happen or to be as one expects.
It can snow in this area even in May.He can't be her father because he's too young.
Nowadays, it is very common to use can
with the meaning of "to have permission to do something," but some people feel that only may
should be used for that meaning. They feel that can
should only be used to describe ability to do something. When people accept the use of both can
for the meaning of permission, they agree that may
sounds more formal than can