could.
simple past of can
Meaning & usage
simple past of can
Before I was blind, I could see very well.
When I was young everybody could easily find a job in a matter of days.
conditional of can Used as a past subjunctive (contrary to fact).
I'd have thought you could have done the dishes, at least.
conditional of can Used to politely ask for permission to do something.
Could I borrow your coat?
conditional of can Used to politely ask for someone else to do something.
Could you proofread this email?
I wonder, you couldn't loan me the money, could you?
conditional of can Used to show the possibility that something might happen.
We could rearrange the time if you like.
conditional of can Used to suggest something.
You could try adding more salt to the soup.
past participle of can
Where this word comes from
From Middle English coude, couthe, cuthe, from Old English cūþe, past indicative and past subjunctive form of cunnan (“to be able”) (compare related cūþ, whence English couth). Cognate with German konnte, Swedish kunde. The -l- in the spelling was added in the early 16th century by analogy with should and would; this analogy formerly affected the pronunciation as well and was probably assisted by the tendency for /l/ to be lost in those words (and so not written, leading to shudd, wode, etc).
Something that could happen, or could be the case, under different circumstances; a potentiality.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English coude, couthe, cuthe, from Old English cūþe, past indicative and past subjunctive form of cunnan (“to be able”) (compare related cūþ, whence English couth). Cognate with German konnte, Swedish kunde. The -l- in the spelling was added in the early 16th century by analogy with should and would; this analogy formerly affected the pronunciation as well and was probably assisted by the tendency for /l/ to be lost in those words (and so not written, leading to shudd, wode, etc).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.