90
votes
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Why can't the word "can" be used in future tense (will can)?
This is a good example of the problems caused by lying to students in saying that will is "The Future Tense". There is no future tense in English. There is likewise no perfect tense, no progressive ...
- 109k
76
votes
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"Can I" vs "May I" in restaurant setting when ordering
I believe 'can' is more appropriate in a restaurant.
Firstly it is quite possible that you cannot have something that is on the menu because it is no longer available. Asking if you 'can' have the ...
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70
votes
"Can I" vs "May I" in restaurant setting when ordering
In the dilemma "may" vs. "can" and which form is preferable, it depends on how old the speaker is, where they live and which dialect of English they speak.
There is an age-old debate that can in ...
- 92.9k
67
votes
Accepted
Can "would" be used twice in an English conditional sentence and still be grammatical?
Use of deontic would in the protasis and epistemic would in the apodosis:
“If you would all PLEASE take your seats, we would actually be able to get started on time for once.”
Non-native speakers ...
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46
votes
Can "would" be used twice in an English conditional sentence and still be grammatical?
I can think of five hundred ways to destroy him: how I would would not be a problem.
Disclaimer: Not a native speaker.
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34
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Can "would" be used twice in an English conditional sentence and still be grammatical?
"Would you ever use would twice in a sentence?"
"I would, but would you?"
The first is mentioned but you could count it as a use. In the second case you could omit the but and have the two words ...
- 21.9k
30
votes
Accepted
The usage of "can not" vs. "cannot" in mathematics
Full disclosure, I know Doug West (he’s my Ph.D. advisor’s Ph.D. advisor), so I am probably more inclined to give him credit. But it’s pretty obvious in context that he’s not being curmudgeonly and ...
- 3,659
23
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Accepted
If saying 'Why can't I ...?' is correct, would 'Why cannot I ...?' be technically correct?
When you remove the contraction, you need to say:
Why can I not...?
just like with the auxiliaries do or have
Why do you not continue...?, Why have you not completed the task?
YourDictionary ...
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21
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Why can't the word "can" be used in future tense (will can)?
Per Wikipedia, can is a "defective verb"...
For example, can lacks an infinitive, future tense, participle, imperative, and gerund. The missing parts of speech are instead supplied by using the ...
- 142k
18
votes
The usage of "can not" vs. "cannot" in mathematics
The good professor is saying that "can not be" is ambiguous.
"X can not be 8" could mean "it is possible for X not to be 8" which then means, by extension, that it is ...
- 3,009
17
votes
Can "would" be used twice in an English conditional sentence and still be grammatical?
George and Ira Gershwin have a great example for you:
He'll build a little home
That's meant for two,
From which I'll never roam,
Who would, would you?
And so all else above
I'm dreaming of the man I ...
- 28.2k
16
votes
"Can I" vs "May I" in restaurant setting when ordering
Beyond Grammar and Into the Social Codes
If you have ever taught English, you might know that "May I have x" is a polite form. This really is not about grammar. It's about how certain expressions are ...
- 15.3k
16
votes
The usage of "can not" vs. "cannot" in mathematics
EnglishClub has a balanced overview:
People often ask me whether they should write cannot (1 word) or
can not (2 words).
Cannot is a contraction of can not.
In 'British English' cannot is the normal ...
- 87.1k
13
votes
Why can't the word "can" be used in future tense (will can)?
The reason is that standard English prohibits the use of double modals, which 'can' and 'will' both are, as addressed in this post. Some dialects, like my own, incorporate double modals like 'might ...
- 384
12
votes
The usage of "can not" vs. "cannot" in mathematics
Can not is ambiguous. Conveniently, it has an alternative spelling cannot which corresponds to the more common of the two possible meanings. It's wrong though to say that this means can not can only ...
- 84.5k
12
votes
The usage of "can not" vs. "cannot" in mathematics
Thanks to Paul Tanenbaum for alerting me to this discussion. In response to these comments, I have modified this item on my grammar page. It now reads:
It appears that some writers of English now ...
- 121
11
votes
Accepted
Can the continuous form be combined with the passive voice?
The first site is wrong:
He has been being treated for imbecility for almost twenty years and has not yet recovered his wits.
In 2007 he had been being treated for imbecility for ten years and had ...
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11
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Modal "will can"
The non-standard double modal construction — although here you're talking about a periphastic future where can functions as the infinitive — is a feature of everyday speech in the North of England, ...
- 28.2k
10
votes
"Can I" vs "May I" in restaurant setting when ordering
No Practical Difference
In the Pacific Northwest region of the US (to include northern Idaho, eastern and western Washington, and central Oregon), it is commonly acceptable to order food in a variety ...
- 211
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votes
Why can't the word "can" be used in future tense (will can)?
Can is part of the set of verbs called the 'Preterite-present' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_verb#Preterite-presents). This essentially means that the form can was originally a past tense ...
- 101
9
votes
Accepted
Another one on the past tense of must have
Both sentences are grammatical, but they mean different things. While sentence 1 is sure about the number of times the request was made, your sentence 2 approximates the number of times "I had to ...
- 37k
8
votes
When should we use "can", "could", "will", "would"?
OK, piece by piece.
Most people say I wish I could, I wish you would.
Can we use I wish I can, I wish you will?
No. *I wish I can and *I wish you will are both ungrammatical sentences. As pointed ...
- 109k
8
votes
Can "would" be used twice in an English conditional sentence and still be grammatical?
You can use "would" twice in a sentence with no intervening words!
Example:
One does not ask, as Americans would: “Would you like something to drink?,” because social etiquette would require the ...
- 578
8
votes
Accepted
The usage of the modal verb "must be"
These two people must be freelancers working hard on their computers.
is awkward but means
It is highly likely that these two people are freelancers. They are working hard on their computers.
The ...
- 87.1k
7
votes
"Don't mind what she does tomorrow" but not "Don't know what she does tomorrow" Why?
The major difference between the predicates distinguished here with Wh-clause complements is that
not know belongs to a class of predicates that takes a Disjunctive Wh-clause complement
whereas
not ...
- 109k
7
votes
"Can I" vs "May I" in restaurant setting when ordering
There's an element of hypercorrection in some of this: using forms which are perceived to be "better" in some social way, even to the point of grammatical incorrectness or semantic inappropriateness. ...
- 735
7
votes
What's quasi-modal be?
The key thing to remember about “modal” constructions is that modality refers to operating in both the epistemic mode of predictions and possibilities as well as the deontic mode of obligations and ...
- 137k
6
votes
Can "would" be used twice in an English conditional sentence and still be grammatical?
I realize the question is about conditionals. However, you can have "would" directly after "would" if you have a noun phrase ending with "would" that serves as the subject of your sentence, e.g.:
He ...
- 61
6
votes
"Can I" vs "May I" in restaurant setting when ordering
I have always been under the impression that "may" was the more polite word to use when ordering food. At a fast food place I suppose it isn't too big of a deal, but if I were taking an order I would ...
- 61
6
votes
"Can I" vs "May I" in restaurant setting when ordering
As a simple distinction:
Can
Can I have the apple pie?
Am I able to have the apple pie?
This is asking for a possibility.
Yes.
No, we don't have any apple pie left.
May
May I ...
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