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User_english Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

Would/Will/could/can

0Though I have been reading many examples of would/will in englishforum.com, still I am not able to grasp the meaning of many sentences.02br
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00Look at the following sentences ::02h3

00I could understand your language.02br
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00I can understand your language.02br
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00I would understand your language02br
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00I will understand your language.02br
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00Could you tell me the meaning of the above sentences?0-
  

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13 Answers
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0 In the first setence, "could" might be the simple past of "can." So the sentence would mean, "In the past, I understood your language" or "could" might express something that is possible in the present.0-
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1font00I could understand your language. 02font00As Anon says above, it could be past: When I visited your country, I was pleased to find that I could understand your language. It also could be a conditional, but missing the condition: I could understand your language if only people spoke more slowly.02br
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0 00This is something of a simplification but 'could/would' expresses that something is or was 01b00possible02b00 while 'can/will' expresses something that's *certain.*00 0-
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01cite10Grammar Geek12cite11font10I could understand your language. 12font10As Anon says above, it could be past: When I visited your country, I was pleased to find that I could understand your language. It also could be a conditional, but missing the condition: I could understand your language if
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0When you say "I can" you are saying you are able to do this.02br
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00When you say "I could" you are saying you are not able to do it, but you would be able to if something changed.02br
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00So "I can... if only" is not right - it's "I could... if only..."0-
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01cite10Grammar Geek12cite10When you say "I can" you are saying you are able to do this.12br
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10When you say "I could" you are saying you are not able to do it, but you would be able to if something changed.12br
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10So "I can... if only" is not right - it's "I could... if only..."12br
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0Hi there,02br
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00Then how about the 'could' in the following sentence?02br
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00The United States could be rife with internet addicts as clinically as alcoholics, a study suggests. 02br
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00Does the 'could' mean less degree of certainty? If I replace it with 'can', what will be the difference?02br
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00Th
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0So far, all of our discussion has been about what is 01i00currently02i00 the state. I can (right now) means I'm (now) able to.02br
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00You can also use "can" to show future, either with or without the conditional. "I can do it tomorrow" or "I can do it if I have a few days to practice." - Both are for a future state.02br
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00S
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0Hi there,02br
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00How about the following sentences?02br
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001. Our school could /should introduce punishment if some students download pirated music in the school's computer room.02br
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002. Our school could/ should organise a campaign to educate students not to download pirated music on the internet.02br
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0Hi there02br
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00Sorry I have another question. Can I use 'I will suggest' and 'I will recommend' instead of 'I would suggest' and I would recommend'? What is the difference between 'will' and 'would' here? Can I use 'shall'?02br
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00Simon0-
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