What does “could” mean?
- 1
modal verbused as the past of “can” to talk about ability
I could read when I was four.
- 2
modal verbused to say that something is possible
It could rain later, so take a coat.
- 3
modal verbused to ask politely for something
Could you open the door for me?
Could at a glance
- Part of speech
- modal verb
- CEFR level
- A1 (beginner)
- Pronunciation
- /kʊd/ · KUUD
- Forms
- couldn’t
How to use “could” correctly
The “l” is silent: say KUUD. “Could you…?” is more polite than “Can you…?”.
“could” is on these word lists
Learn these words next
- can modal verbA1to be able to do something, or to know how to do it
- should modal verbA1used to give advice or say what is right
- would modal verbA1used to talk about imagined situations
- may modal verbA2used to say that something is possible but not certain
- might modal verbA2used to say that something is possible, often less likely than with “may”
- must modal verbA2used to say that something is necessary or very important