E02
core
Speaker stance
Modality
Ability Aura
Can someone do it?
basic
Modal verb
Can
Znaczenie
A modal layer expressing skill, capability, learned ability, physical possibility, or practical capacity.
Jak to rozpoznać
Ask whether the sentence says someone is able to do something.
Przykłady
Słowa
can|able|know how to
Zwroty
can swim|able to help|know how to cook
Zdanie
She can swim.
Visual guide
Basic shape
Ability layer person + CAN + action She + can + swim = skill / capacity / possibility = action is possible for her
Compare shape
Same meaning, different tools: Modal: can swim Phrase: able to help Know-how: know how to cook Affix/particle: swim-ABLE Construction: possible to swim
Widok językowy
W języku ojczystym
Polski
Występowanie
strong
Znaczenie
Ability is expressed with umieć, móc, potrafić plus infinitive.
Umiem pływać.
I-can-by-skill swim.
W języku nauki
Angielski
Występowanie
strong
Trudność
English expresses ability mainly with can/could and be able to.
I can swim.
can = ability
Typowa trudność uczących się
Learners may add 'to' after modal verbs or confuse can and be able to.
Same block, different coding
Both languages use this block strongly, but they signal it differently. Focus on form changes, not only meaning.