MSN: If I could turn back time, my kids’ toys would only come from me and Santa
If I could turn back time, my kids’ toys would only come from me and Santa
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.)
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.