could

Signification (English)

1. simple past of can
2. conditional of can
3. conditional of can
4. conditional of can
5. conditional of can
6. conditional of can
7. past participle of can

verbe modal

able to

be likely

Fréquence

Prononcé comme (IPA)

/kʊd/

Inherited from moyen anglais

coude

Inherited from ancien anglais

cūþe

In summary

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). The 'l' was added in the early 16th century by analogy with should and would; this was probably helped by the tendency for 'l' to be lost in those words (and so not written, leading to shudd, wode, etc).

Nouveau

can

1. To know how to; to be able to.
2. (informal) May; to be permitted or enabled to.
3. To have the potential to; be possible.
4. Used with verbs of perception.
5. (obsolete) To know.
6. To be (followed by a word like able, possible, allowed).

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Notes

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Phrases

An user

And nobody could accept
🉑

that answer .

Et personne ne pouvait accepter cette réponse.

An user

He
👨

could destroy you quite by accident .

Il pourrait vous détruire tout à fait par accident.

An user

Man
👨

could not
🚫

conquer them .

L'homme ne pouvait pas les conquérir.

An user

He
👨

could sell the stones and buy
🛍️

a

return ticket .

Il pouvait vendre les pierres et acheter un billet de retour.

An user

But with her cover blown , she
👩

could never be undercover again
🔁

.

Mais avec sa couverture soufflée, elle ne pourrait plus jamais être infiltrée.

An user

Perhaps , we could meet at the institute around noon
🕛

since I have a few things I need to attend to first
1st

.

Peut-être que nous pourrions nous rencontrer à l'institut vers midi, car j'ai quelques choses à laquelle je dois d'abord assister.

An user

It

was said that he
👨

could cross half of Spain without leaving his possessions .

Il a été dit qu'il pouvait traverser la moitié de l'Espagne sans quitter ses biens.

An user

It

could have been steel , silver or platinum .

Il aurait pu être en acier, en argent ou en platine.