Expressing someone's ability

Modal to express ability

Modal verbs are shall, can, will, may, could, should, would, and might.

Positive			Negative
I	can drive		I	can’t drive (cannot)
You			You
They			They
We			We
He			He
She			She
It			It

·         Subject + can + verb                               Subject + can’t (cannot) + verb

Question				Short answer
Can	I	drive?			I
	you				you
	they			Yes,	they	can.
	we			No,	we	can’t.
	he				he
	she				she
	it				it

The use of modal “can” is:

a.      To talk about what someone can or can’t do:

I can swim.

I can’t swim.

b.     To express a request.

Can you close the door, please?

Can you turn on the fan, please?

Would you mind not leaving the door open?

Responses :

OK

Sure

Sorry, I can’t.

 Dialogue.

Agha and Naufal are talking about something when Asif approaches them.

Asif      : Hi, what are you two talking about?

Agha   : It’s about our plans for Sunday.

Asif      : Wow! What are you going to do?

Naufal : We are going to have a city tour.

Asif      : That sound great. Can I go with you?

Agha   : Are you serious?

Asif      : Of course. Why?

Agha   : We will start the trip early in the morning. It means you have to get up early. Can you do that?

Asif      : Well, I’m not sure about that. I usually get up late on Sundays.

Naufal : If you can’t get up early, then you can’t join us.

References :

Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan. 2014. Bahasa Inggris, When English Rings a Bell SMP/MTs Kelas VIII. Jakarta : Pusat Kurikulum dan Perbukuan, Balitbang. Kemdikbud. Hal. 148 -155.

Zaida, N. 2014. Practise Your English Competence 2. Jakarta : Erlangga.

Zaida, N. 2015. BUPENA Buku Penilaian Autentik for SMP/MTS Grade VIII. Jakarta : Erlangga.