Learn to Use “Can” for Permission and Requests in English

We use “can” in these ways:

– to ask for something

– to ask to do something

– to ask other people to do things for us.

Here are some examples.

“Can I open the window in here?”

“Can we sit here?”

“Can I have two coffees and a coke, please?”

“Can you help me?”

To be polite in English, you can add “please” at the end of a question asking someone to do something
for you:

“Can you get me the menu, please?”

“Can you tell me the time, please?”

How to reply to a request

Here are some positive replies:

“Can I open the window in here?”

– Sure, go ahead.

– No problem.

– No worries.
– Yes, sure.

– Yes, of course you can.

“Can you help me?”

– Of course!

– Sure!

– Certainly!

Here are some negative replies (when you refuse a request):

Can I open the window in here?

– Actually, I’d prefer it closed.

– I’m sorry, but I’m cold.

Can we sit here?

– Sorry, the seat’s taken.

– I’m sorry, but you can’t. Someone else is sitting here.

(“Sorry” or “I’m sorry” makes a negative reply more polite.)

Grammar rules

Can is a modal auxiliary verb. This means:

1. There is no “s” with he / she / it

“Can” doesn’t change:

Can I have the menu?

Can you pass me the newspaper?

Can she sit next to me?

Can we pay you now?

Can they use the VIP lounge?

2. After “can” use the infinitive form of the verb without “to”

Can I pay by credit card? (Not “Can I to pay by credit card?”)

Can you post this letter for me? (Not “Can you to post this letter for me?”)

3. You don’t need “do” or “does” in the question form

This is because “can” is already an auxiliary verb (like the verb to be).

“Can I sit here?” (Not “Do I can sit here?”.)

“Can the doctor see me in the morning?” (Not: Can the doctor to see me in the morning?”)

The short form answers are:

Yes, you can / No you can’t

Yes s/he can / No s/he can’t

Yes they can / No they can’t

Learn other uses of can

We also use “can” to talk about ability (“I can play the guitar), and to talk about possibility (“It can
sometimes rain in summer in the UK”).

In these situations, use “not” or “n’t” to form the negative.

“I can’t play the piano.”

“He can’t sing very well.”

“They cannot use HTML programming code.”

Pronunciation

When we use “can” in questions, the /a/ is pronounced the same way as the /a/ in “hat”.

But the /a/ in the short form answer “can’t” is pronounced the same way as the /a/ in “father”.

Can Exercise

Choose the correct answer.

1. Can I __ this chair please?

take

taking

to take

2. Yes, you __
can

do

take

3. __ my friend stay for dinner tonight?

Can

Cans

Does can

4. No, he __

can't

doesn't can

doesn't

5. Can she __ the exam next month, and not next week?

take

takes

to take

6. I'm afraid she __

can

can't

takes

7. __ pass me the newspaper please?

Can you

Do you can

Do you to can

8. Can you __ the door for me please?

open
opening

to open

9. __ leave early?

Can I

Do I can

I can

10. No, you __

can't

don't

don't leave

Comparatives
When you want to compare two things in English, use a comparative form. Here are the basic grammar
rules for making comparisons with nouns, verbs and adjectives.

To compare nouns

Use “more” to show an increase, and “fewer” or “less” to show a decrease. Use “fewer” for countable
nouns, and “less” for uncountable nouns. For an explanation on countable and uncountable nouns, see
our page English nouns.

“There are more people in the supermarket today.”

“There is more coffee if you want some.”

“There are fewer people in the supermarket today.” (“fewer” because “people” is a countable noun)

“We have less money this week for shopping.” (“less” because “money” is an uncountable noun)
To compare verbs

Use “more” to show an increase and “less” to show a decrease.

“I’m sure he loves me more! He sends me chocolates or flowers every day.”

“He eats less than me.”

To compare adjectives

When the adjective is one syllable, add -er to make a comparative.

Which city is bigger? Rio de Janeiro or Mexico City?

I think Mexico City is bigger.

Who is older? You or your sister?

My sister is older.

When the adjective ends in -y, change the -y to -i and add -er.

“He’s happier now he lives in the countryside.”

Which city is prettier? Oxford or Bath?

When the adjective is two syllables (and more), use “more” before the adjective. (Don’t add -er or -ier to
the end of the adjective.)

“Paris is a beautiful city.”

“I agree, but I think Rome is more beautiful…”

“Who was more intelligent? Einstein or Archimedes?”

Note: some two-syllable adjectives can have both types of endings: “more + adjective” and “adjective +
er”.

clever = cleverer / more clever

gentle = gentler / more gentle

cruel = crueler / more cruel

polite = politer / more polite

Irregular adjectives

Some adjectives have different comparative forms. For example:

good – better

“Sunflower oil is good, but olive oil is better for you.”

bad – worse

“Jack is bad at Maths, but his brother Dave is worse.”

far – further

“London is far from the seaside, but Oxford is further.”

Using “than”

When you mention what you are comparing something to, use “than”.

“There are more people in the supermarket today than yesterday.”

“We have less money for shopping this week than last week.”

“I’m sure he loves me more than before!”

“My sister is older than me.”

“He is happier than me.”

“Rome is more beautiful than Paris, in my opinion.”

“She is cleverer than her sister.”

“Olive oil is better than sunflower oil.”

“Dave is worse than Jack at Maths.”

Common errors

Don’t use “that” instead of “than”.

“She is more clever than her sister” (Not: “she is more clever that…”)

Don’t forger to use “than” if you mention the second thing.

“He is more handsome than his brother” (Not: “He is more handsome his brother”)

Don’t forget to use the -er form for one-syllable adjectives

“Russia is colder than the UK” (Not: “Russia is more cold than…”)

For more information, see our grammar page How to make comparisons.
Comparatives Exercise

Choose the correct answer.

1. Sarah is __ than her sister.

more young

young

younger

2. Paris is __ to get to than Rome.

easier

easy

more easy

3. Who is __ ? You or your sister?

a clever

cleverer

cleverly

4. He is __ than his sister at school.

badder

the worse

worse

5. My book is __ yours.

interesting that

more interesting

more interesting than

6. My car is __ his.

more old than

older

older than

7. We read __ books than before.

few

fewer

less

8. I have __ time today.

fewer

less

many

9. I think that Chemistry is more difficult __ Biology.

than

that

10. She was __ when she was a child.

happier

happyer

more happy

How to Make Comparisons in English

There are some rules to help you make comparisons in English.

1 If the adjective (describing word) is one syllable, you can add -er.
For example, small – smaller; big – bigger; nice – nicer.

2 If the adjective has two syllables, but ends in -y, you can change the end to -ier.

For example, lucky – luckier; happy – happier.

3 With other English adjectives of two syllables and more, you can’t change their endings. Instead, you
should use more + adjective.

For example, handsome – more handsome; beautiful – more beautiful and so on.

4 When you compare two things, use ‘than’.

“She’s younger than me.”

“This exercise is more difficult than the last one.”

5 When you want to say something is similar, use ‘as – as’.

For example, “She’s as tall as her brother” or “It’s as nice today as it was yesterday.”

6 When you want to say one thing is less than another, you can either use ‘less than’ or ‘not as – as’.

For example, “This programme is less interesting than I thought” or “This programme is not as
interesting as I thought.”

7 Remember that some adjectives are irregular and change form when you make comparisons.
For example, good – better; bad – worse; far – further.

Using qualifying expressions

You can vary the strength of the comparison by using “qualifying” expressions.

1. Comparing two things

You can use “a lot”, “much”, “a little”, “slightly” and “far” before “more / less than”:

“She’s a lot more intelligent than him.”

“This car is much faster than the other one.”

“They are much less wealthy than they used to be.”

“He’s a little taller than his sister.”

“She’s slightly less interested in football than him.

“We are far more involved in charity than they are.”

When you use these qualifying expressions in English, remember the rules about using -er. If the
adjective is one syllable, or ends in -y, add -er:

“He’s far taller than her.” (NOT “He’s far more taller…”)

“I’m much lazier than you!”

When the adjective is two syllables and more, you need either “more” or “less”:

“He’s a little more prepared for the exam than she is.” (NOT “He’s a little prepareder…”)
2. Saying how two things are similar

You can use “almost as … as”, “not quite as … as”, “(not) nearly as … as”, “nowhere near as … as”, “twice
as … as” and “half as … as” to change the extent of the similarity.

“She’s almost as good as you!”

“He’s not quite as confident as Susie.”

“I’m not nearly as intelligent as her!”

“This painting is nowhere near as famous as the first.”

“She’s twice as old as him!

“He’s half as interesting as you!”

English Words to Talk about Time and the Past

We often use reference words with the Past Simple tense.

ago

“Five years ago I broke my leg.”

(Present year 2017 – five years ago the year was 2012)

“She had a baby a month ago.”

(also “a week ago”, “two weeks ago”, but not “a day ago” – instead, use “yesterday”.)

last

“Last week I went to London.”

“Last year I visited the USA.”

(also “last month” and “in the last century”.)

in

“She was born in the last century.”

“In the 1970s disco music was very popular.”

“In those days, there weren’t many cars on the roads.”

Prepositions of time

We use these prepositions with times and dates. (Remember: we can use these with past, present and
future time forms.)

On (with a day)

I started work on Monday.

On my birthday I went out for dinner.

It’s his wedding anniversary on December 7th.

British people often eat turkey on Christmas Day.

At (a clock time / a period of time)

I finish work at 6pm.

They ate lunch at midday.

What do you normally do at Christmas?

She goes out with her friends at the weekend. (British English – American English is “on the weekend”)

I don’t like going out at night.

In (with a century, year, month, season, part of the day)

They got married in 2010.

She went on holiday in March.

They go to the beach in summer.

She goes shopping in the morning. (But “on Tuesday morning”, for example.)

Also, in the afternoon, in the evening, in the night:

They left early in the evening.

I heard a strange noise in the night.

For (to talk about length of time)

She stayed for an hour.

He went away for the weekend.

During (at some point in a period of time)

It rained during the night.

They argued during the holidays.

Common error

Don’t confuse “for” and “ago”.

“For” refers to a length of time.

“I lived there for a year.”

“Ago” refers to a point in time – separated by a length of between now and then.

“I moved there a month ago.” (If this month is February, a month ago is January.)

Sequencing words

Before

I woke up before the alarm clock went off.

After

After I had a shower, I got dressed.

Then

Then I had breakfast.

After that / Afterwards

After that, I left the house.

Later

Later that day, I got a strange phone call.

When

When I got home, I listened to some music.

Also see our page on Time expressions in English for more ways to sequence events in the past.

Time Words Exercise

Choose the correct answer.

1. She left her job __

last week

last week ago

week ago

2. He got married __

ago

a month

a month ago

3. He started his job __

a month

a month ago

for a month

4. I often have a party __ my birthday.

at

in

on

5. I don't work __ the afternoon.

at

in

on

6. The got married __ July, 2017.

at

in
on

7. I had a shower __ I got dressed.

after

before

when

8. __ summer we go to the beach.

At

In

On

9. It's very quiet here __ night.

at

in

on

10. I went away __ Christmas.

at

in

on

English Grammar: How to Use “will”

We can use “will” to talk about the future. We also use will to make predictions, talk about decisions,
and to make promises, offers, requests and threats.

Grammar rules

“Will” and the negative form “will not” or “won’t” is a modal auxiliary verb.

This means that there is no s on the third person singular, and that it is followed by the infinitive:
I will leave later.

You will leave later.

He / she will leave later.

We will leave later.

They will leave later.

Note: “will” is often abbreviated to ‘ll in spoken English:

“I’ll leave later.”

“He’ll leave later.”

To make the question form, change the word order:

“You will leave later” = “Will you leave later?”

(For more information on the grammar of modal auxiliary verbs, see our page on how to use “can”.)

Using will

Here are some of the ways we use will:

1. To talk about the future

We can often use “will” + infinitive without “to” to refer to future events. This is often called the “pure”
future:
“I’ll be back later tonight – don’t bother making me dinner.”

“I’m busy right now – I’ll call you tomorrow.”

2. To make predictions

We also use “will” to talk about what we think will happen in the future.

“I think it’ll rain tonight.”

“I’m sure he’ll be a successful lawyer one day.”

Note: for “negative” predictions, make the “think” negative, not the “will”:

“I don’t think it’ll rain tonight” (Not “I think it won’t rain tonight.”)

3. To make decisions

When we make decisions at the same time as we speak, we use “will”.

For example, in a restaurant:

Waiter: “What would you like to eat?”

Customer: “I think I’ll have the chicken.”

Other examples:
“I’m cold. I think I’ll put the heater on.”

“Look, that’s my bus. I’ll catch up with you later.”

4. To make promises, offers, requests and threats

These are some other ways we can use “will” in English.

Promises: “I’ll help you with your homework tomorrow.”

Offers: “I’ll look after the children for you if you like.”

Requests: “Will you tell Tony I called?”

Threats: “If you cheat again, I’ll tell the teacher.”

(Some of the examples above also show conditional sentences. For more grammar information on
conditionals, see our page on If sentences.)

Will Exercise

Choose the correct answer.

1. He __ famous one day.

will be

will to be

wills be

2. __ you later.

I to help

I'll help

I'll to help
3. __ be at home later?

You will

You will to

Will you

4. __ be sunny tomorrow?

It will

Will

Will it

5. She __ arrive home until 8 pm tonight.

will not to

won't

won't to

6. I think she __ pass the exam.

to

will

won't

7. You won't __ rich as a teacher!

get

to get

8. I don't think I __ go out tonight.

want

will

won't

9. __ open the door for me?

Will you

Will you to

You will

10. __ know the answer.

She'll

She to

Will she