Can/Will/Could/Would

Question

Confused with Can/Will/Could/Would. I'm asking what's the difference between the below 4?
1) Can you be mine?
2)Will you be mine?
3)Could you be mine?
4)Would you be mine?

Will be greatful if its solved.

MrGuedes · Accepted Answer

AnonymousI will be grateful if it's solved.

The verb "can" expresses possibility. You are asking if it is possible that the person (I suppose...) in question could be yours. However, this is a strange question to be asked. A more appropriate one would be with "will" (which leads me to your next sentence).

The verb "will" expresses simply the future. You are asking simply if it will happen or not. However, since you are asking someone else something that requires that person's will or consent, it is basically, in this context, the same thing as asking "Do you want to be mine?", and that's how it will probably be interpreted.

The verbs "could" and "would", corresponding to the past tenses of "can" and "will", respectively, express perhaps more uncertainty, or perhaps giving more emphasis to the possibility in itself, rather than the event, or perhaps giving you a bit more of humility... It's hard to explain this part, but, in this context, I guess it would be pretty much the same thing as "Can you be mine?" and "Will you be mine?", respectively.

If you're going to ask that to a girl or a guy, and you're not sure how to ask, I suggest "Will you be mine?", since it seems to appeal to their will more deeply, and in a relatively more formal way than "Do you want to be mine?". And, by the way, good luck!

Wilpeter · Answer

Admittedly, these are extremely hard to justify, but does ‘past tense’ even creep into it?  Would you be my dance partner? (polite request).  Will you be my dance partner? (confident request). Could you be my dance partner? (uncertain enquiry).  Can you be my dance partner? (even more uncertain question…can you even dance?)

Fivejedjon · Answer

wilpeterAdmittedly, these are extremely hard to justify, but does ‘past tense’ even creep into it?

Well, could and would are technically the past-tense forms of can and will.

As I have said elsewhere, the past tense in English is unfortunately named. It is most commonly used to distance situations we are talking about - in vividness/time, reality, and directness.

MrGuedes · Answer

wilpeterAdmittedly, these are extremely hard to justify, but does ‘past tense’ even creep into it? Would you be my dance partner? (polite request). Will you be my dance partner? (confident request). Could you be my dance partner? (uncertain enquiry). Can you be my dance partner? (even more uncertain question…can you even dance?)

That's a pretty good summary (I wouldn't have thought about that!). But "Can you be my dance partner?" sounds more than "uncertain": to me, it sounds weird, since the question is really if it is possible.

The best would probably be "Will you be my dance partner?". My friends have taught me that girls like guys who display confidence, so that would probably be the best!

Wilpeter · Answer

MrGuedesThe best would probably be "Will you be my dance partner?"

Agreed. When we apply English grammar rules (some of which have been set in stone), we select the best combination of correct-sounding words/expressions, taking protocol and politeness into consideration. Instead, when we analyze written English and test the chosen words against the intended meaning, we are obliged to use just the context supplied. My examples were to demonstrate how the choices might fit the 'tenses' or forms of the words could and would versus can and will. If the question were phrased, "How or when might I use 'Can you be mine?' in conversation?" I could create the circumstances to fit. For example, at a masked ball, the "musketeer" enquires of a "duchess": "I recognize the costume and my wife has one just like it. Can you be mine?" OK, that's stretching it.

Fivejedjon · Answer

wilpeter OK, that's stretching it.

I agree.

Can/Will/Could/Would

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