The meaning of COULD is —used in auxiliary function in the past, in the past conditional, and as an alternative to can suggesting less force or certainty or as a polite form in the present. How to use could in a sentence.
We use could to ask for permission. Could is more formal and polite than can: Could I ask you a personal question?
We use could to show that something is possible, but not certain: They could come by car. (= Maybe they will come by car.) They could be at home. (= Maybe they are at home.) We use can to make general statements about what is possible: It can be very cold here in winter. (= It is sometimes very cold here in winter.)
You use could when you are expressing strong feelings about something by saying that you feel as if you want to do the thing mentioned, although you do not do it.
Definition of could modal verb in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
"Could" is a modal verb used to express possibility or past ability as well as to make suggestions and requests. "Could" is also commonly used in conditional sentences as the conditional form of "can."
To make your English sound more polite, flexible, and natural, it helps to know when to use could instead of a stronger verb. In everyday conversation, could lets you soften requests, offer options, and talk about possible situations without sounding too certain. This article explains how native
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English could /kəd; strong kʊd/ S1 W1 modal verb (negative short form couldn’t) 1 past ability used as the past tense of ‘can’ to say what someone was able to do or was allowed to do in the past By the time she was eight, she could read Greek and Latin.