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Jigneshbharati Posted 10 years ago
Grammar

Can vs to be

Conjunctions, relative pronouns and relative adverbs can be used to connect two clauses.
What is the grammatical function and exact meaning of "can be" here and if we use "to be(are) ", would that change the meaning of the sentence?
Thanks
Jignesh
  

Top answer

Modal verb "can" expresses possibility/ability. Like all modal verbs, it is followed by a verb infinitive (base form), in this case "be". In this sentence, changing "can be" to "are" does not make a huge difference to the meaning.

— GPY

  • Modal verb "can" expresses possibility/ability.
  • Like all modal verbs, it is followed by a verb infinitive (base form), in this case "be".
  • In this sentence, changing "can be" to "are" does not make a huge difference to the meaning.
  • "are" has a more assertive tone, and may weaken the suggestion that there are other uses for these types of word.
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1 Answers
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Modal verb "can" expresses possibility/ability. Like all modal verbs, it is followed by a verb infinitive (base form), in this case "be".

In this sentence, changing "can be" to "are" does not make a huge difference to the meaning. "are" has a more assertive tone, and may weaken the suggestion that there are other uses for these types of word.
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