You can go means You are able to go,—You have the power to go. You may go means You have permission to go. Can is often used when we should use may, when we mean to give permission. Habit plays a great part in our life and knowledge of the right way does not always suffice. It is only continued effort that will establish correct habits of speech. Good English would be easy of accomplishment if "to do were as easy as to know what it were good to do."
We are too often like the mother in the story. "Can I have a piece of pie?" asked the child. "May I?" the mother corrected. Then the child asked, "May I have a piece of pie?" and the mother answered, "Yes, you can." Knowledge said, may; habit said can, and the ready tongue obeyed the force of habit.
Say the correct word over and over aloud until it sounds right to your ear and flows readily to your tongue.
177. Could is sometimes used in the present sense to denote power to do, conditioned upon willingness, as:
- He could if he would.
Exercise 4
Study carefully the following sentences. Write in the blank space preceding each sentence the number of the paragraph in the lesson which governs the use of the helping verbs can or could in that sentence.
- ...... I can say love when others say hate;
- I can say every man when others say one man;
- What can I do? I can give myself to life,
- When other men refuse themselves to life.
- ...... No one can be free till all are free.
- ...... They could win their freedom if they would prepare themselves to be free.
- ...... What can I do, being alone?
- ...... If all men could catch the vision of freedom, wars would cease.
- ...... Could you find a better way to spend your time than in study?
- ...... Men would rise in revolt if they could know the facts.
MUST AND OUGHT
178. Must and ought imply obligation. Must conveys the idea of being obliged to do an action from necessity or compulsion, as,