Past tense of can in english

John would've missed the trail if Mary hadn't waited for him at the stream. First Mary waited for him. If her response had been to not wait, then next John would have been on the wrong trail. I would have to say that you're acting a bit immature. Here would has a similar meaning to do but less emphatic. Should I win a million dollars, I would fix up my house. Think of should as if , and would as will. Helen would sob whenever John would leave home.

Think of would as did. For a moment the plane would be airborne, then it would bump back down along the hard earth. The plane was in the air and then back on the ground several times. I would sooner die than face them. I would rather handwrite than type. I would rather die.

Implied is that I would rather die than Those people would allow gambling. Would it were so. Infrequently used We wish that he would go. She said she would come. I would put off the test if I could. This means my choice is to delay taking the test, but I do not have the ability to delay taking it.

The answer would seem to be correct. He calculated that he would get to the camp around 6 p. The men would have dinner ready for him.

The first sentence means he believed his camp arrival time was going to be about p. The "calculating" or believing happened in the past, yet the arrival is going to occur later. The second sentence predicts that, at that future time, dinner will be ready for him. Would you had changed your mind. Would you have changed your mind. Should Technically, should is the past tense of shall , but it is an auxiliary verb with a few uses, not all of which are in the past tense, namely, the following:.

Like can , could can be used of possibility as well, but the connotation is slightly different. By contrast, when could is used in this way, it refers to something that you believe is likely to be true or to happen. Could is also used to refer to something that you wish to have or do but that is not possible "If only we could be free of this tyrant!

Could can also express annoyance or another strong emotion "He could have asked me if I needed help! Would is a little easier to understand because it is not related to could or can , and its uses are more specific.

Would is used to talk about a possible situation that has not happened or that you are imagining "I would quit my job if I won the lottery. Would can also be used to ask polite questions "Would you mind if I had another cup of tea? It has several distinct uses that can and could do not, however: it is used to give opinions "I wouldn't do that if I were you," or "I would say that she is in her 30s.

He always says that! Learner's Dictionary mobile search. Learner's Dictionary. Ask the Editor. Peter Sokolowski , Editor at Large. View the pronunciation for could. Open Dictionary. Other entries for this word. I could eat a horse phrase. I could murder something phrase. Sometimes it is used without a following infinitive: I came as quickly as I could.

I could not breathe. Could has no tenses, no participles, and no infinitive form. There is no past tense, but could have followed by a past participle is used for referring to something in the past that was not real, or something that may possibly have been real: I could have been killed. What was that noise? Could it have been the wind? Could is used as the past tense of can when it means that someone had the ability to do something, or that something was possible: The Roman army could march 30 miles in a day.

Synonyms and related words. Irregular past tenses.