could
Could you help me with this?
A polite way to ask for assistance
Past tense of 'can', indicating ability or possibility in the past
She could swim when she was five.
She had the ability to swim at age five
Used for past ability or general possibility
Used to make polite requests or suggestions
Could you pass the salt?
A polite way to ask someone to pass the salt
Often used in questions to sound more polite
Used to express hypothetical or conditional situations
If I could fly, I would travel the world.
Expressing a hypothetical situation
Used in conditional statements
Related Phrases
Pro Tip
Polite Requests
Use 'could' to make requests sound more polite, such as 'Could you help me?' instead of 'Can you help me?'
Gold Rule
Past Ability
Use 'could' to describe an ability in the past, such as 'She could swim when she was young.'
Word Origin
From Middle English 'coulde', past tense of 'can', from Old English 'cunnan' meaning 'to know' or 'be able to'
Usage Notes
Could is the past tense of 'can' and is used for past ability, polite requests, and hypothetical situations. It is also used in conditional statements.