could

/kʊd/

past tense of 'can' or polite request

Could you help me with this?

A polite way to ask for assistance

general

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

informal

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

general

Used to express hypothetical or conditional situations

If I could fly, I would travel the world.

Expressing a hypothetical situation

Used in conditional statements

Collocations

could bemight be or possibly iscould havemight have or possibly didcould youpolite request

Synonyms

might may would

Antonyms

couldn't can't mustn't

Related Phrases

could havephrase

might have or possibly did

could bephrase

might be or possibly is

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.

Word Breakdown

could

past tense of 'can'

root

English Dictionary

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