Abilities and Jobs
Habilidades e profissões
Talk about what you can do and jobs
The Verb Can
Can = Poder / Conseguir
We use 'can' to talk about abilities and permissions.
| Ability | Permission | Possibility | I can swim Eu sei nadar |
Can I go? Posso ir? |
It can be cold Pode fazer frio |
|---|
Can is a Modal Verb
!
Special Rules
1. Never adds 's' in 3rd person
2. No 'to' after it
3. No 'do/does' for questions/negatives
Rule 1: No 's' in 3rd Person
| Correct | Incorrect | She can swim He can drive |
She cans swim He cans drive |
|---|
✗
She cans swim
CAN NEVER gets 's'
Rule 2: No 'to' After Can
| Correct | Incorrect | I can speak English She can drive well |
I can to speak English She can to drive |
|---|
✗
I can to play tennis
VERB stays in base form
Rule 3: Questions without Do/Does
| Correct | Incorrect | Can you swim? Can he help? |
Do you can swim? Does he can help? |
|---|
✗
Do you can help me?
Just invert the subject and CAN
Can for Skills and Abilities
| In English | In Portuguese | Sentence | I can swim | Eu sei nadar | We use CAN for learned skills |
|---|
For physical/learned abilities, use CAN (not KNOW)
| Examples | I can speak English She can drive He can cook |
|---|
Questions and Short Answers
| Question | Short Answer | Long Answer | Can you play guitar? | Yes, I can. No, I can't. |
Yes, I can play guitar. No, I can't play guitar. |
|---|
✓
Can you swim?
Yes, I can.
Yes, I can.
✗
Yes, I swim.
Repeat the modal verb
Practice Questions
Can you speak English?
Can you drive?
Can you cook?
Can you swim?
Common Jobs Vocabulary
1
teacher
/'tiː.tʃər/
2
doctor
/'dɒk.tər/
3
nurse
/nɜːs/
4
engineer
/ˌen.dʒɪˈnɪər/
More Job Vocabulary
5
driver
/'draɪ.vər/
6
police officer
/pəˈliːs ˌɒf.ɪ.sər/
7
waiter
/'weɪ.tər/
8
chef
/ʃef/
Even More Job Vocabulary
9
mechanic
/mɪˈkæn.ɪk/
10
shop assistant
/'ʃɒp əˌsɪs.tənt/
11
office worker
/'ɒf.ɪs ˌwɜː.kər/
12
student
/'stjuː.dənt/
Jobs + Can Expressions
| Job | Example Sentences | teacher | She can teach English I can become a teacher |
|---|
| Job | Example Sentences | doctor | He can help people Doctors can save lives |
|---|
Practice Sentences
I can be a teacher.
She can work as a nurse.
He can drive a truck.
We can become engineers.
What Can You Do?
I can speak English.
I can cook Italian food.
I can drive a car.
I can play guitar.
What Job Could You Do?
I could be a teacher.
I could work as a chef.
Review: Common Mistakes
✗
She cans swim.
✓ She can swim
✗
I can to speak English.
✓ I can speak English
✗
Do you can help me?
✓ Can you help me?
✗
I know swim.
✓ I can swim
Quick Quiz
Can you play piano?
What can you do?
What job can you do?
Can he speak Spanish?
Wrap Up
Today we learned:
How to use CAN for abilities
Important grammar rules for CAN
Vocabulary for common jobs
How to ask about abilities and jobs
Remember: I can learn English!
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