Can, Could, Be Able To
A1Bisa, boleh & minta tolong
Dipakai untuk kemampuan (bisa), izin (boleh), dan minta tolong. Setelah can/could selalu V1 tanpa to atau -s, dan kalau di depannya perlu will atau have, ganti dengan be able to.
Uang tunai laku hampir di mana saja, kecuali di gerbang tol: di sana cuma kartu e-toll yang diterima, padahal nilainya sama. Can juga begitu. Ia lancar dipakai sendiri, bahkan untuk besok (I can come tomorrow), tapi ditolak setelah will, have, atau modal lain. Jadi di "gerbang" itu, tukar dengan be able to: I'll be able to come, I haven't been able to call him.
Rumus Can, Could, Be Able To
| Bentuk | Rumus | Contoh |
|---|---|---|
| Kalimat positif (+) | S + can + V1 + O | I can speak Japanese.Saya bisa berbahasa Jepang. |
| Kalimat negatif (−) | S + can't / cannot + V1 + O | I can't open this file.Saya tidak bisa membuka file ini. |
| Kalimat tanya (?) | Can / Could + S + V1 + O? | Can you send me the report?Bisa tolong kirimkan laporannya ke saya? |
| Jawaban singkat | Yes, S + can. · No, S + can't. | Yes, I can. · No, I can't.Ya, bisa. · Tidak bisa. |
| Lampau | S + could / couldn't + V1 | I couldn't join the meeting yesterday.Kemarin saya tidak bisa ikut rapat. |
| Tense lain | S + will be able to / have been able to + V1 | I'll be able to finish it by Friday.Paling lambat hari Jumat saya sudah bisa menyelesaikannya. |
Tiga tugas can dan could
Di kantor, can dan could sibuk dengan tiga tugas:
- Kemampuan (bisa): I can drive. She can speak Mandarin.
- Izin (boleh): Can I leave at four today? You can park in the basement.
- Minta tolong: Can you check this email? Could you call the client?
Untuk kemampuan di masa lalu, could jadi bentuk lampaunya: I could swim when I was six.
- I can design posters and edit videos.Saya bisa mendesain poster dan mengedit video.
- Can I work from home tomorrow?Boleh saya kerja dari rumah besok?
- Could you send me the invoice, please?Bisa tolong kirimkan invoice-nya ke saya?
Cara membentuk: can + V1
Can tidak pernah berubah: I can, she can, they can. Tidak ada cans. Kata kerja sesudahnya juga selalu bentuk dasar (V1), tanpa to, -s, atau -ing.
Negatif: cannot (ditulis satu kata) atau singkatannya can't. Pertanyaan: cukup pindahkan can ke depan subject.
| Subject | Positif | Negatif | Pertanyaan |
|---|---|---|---|
| I / you / we / they | I can help. | I can't help. | Can I help? |
| he / she / it | She can help. | She can't help. | Can she help? |
Kesalahan umum: He can speaks English very well. → He can speak English very well.
Setelah can, kata kerja selalu polos. Subject he atau she tidak mengubah apa pun.
Soal pengucapan: can di kalimat positif biasanya pendek dan lemah (/kən/). Can't diucapkan penuh dan diberi tekanan: /kænt/ di American English, /kɑːnt/ di British English. Bunyi "t" di ujungnya sering nyaris tidak kedengaran, jadi bedakan dari tekanan dan vokalnya.
Could & be able to: lampau dan tense lain
Can cuma punya dua bentuk: can (sekarang) dan could (lampau). Begitu di depannya ada will, have/has, atau modal lain, can tidak bisa masuk. Pakai be able to + V1.
- Kemampuan umum di masa lalu: could. I could read when I was four.
- Berhasil melakukan sesuatu satu kali di masa lalu: was / were able to. We were able to finish on time.
- Negatif lampau: couldn't atau wasn't / weren't able to. Dua-duanya benar.
Tanpa will, can tetap boleh dipakai untuk besok: I can join the call tomorrow.
- We were able to get a discount from the supplier.Kami berhasil mendapat diskon dari supplier.
- Will you be able to come to the training on Monday?Apakah kamu bisa datang ke pelatihan hari Senin?
- I haven't been able to reach the client since this morning.Sejak tadi pagi saya belum bisa menghubungi klien.
| Waktu | Bentuk | Contoh |
|---|---|---|
| Sekarang | can / am, is, are able to | I can join the call. |
| Lampau | could / was, were able to | I couldn't join the call. |
| Masa depan | will be able to | I'll be able to join the call tomorrow. |
| Present perfect | have / has been able to | I haven't been able to call him yet. |
Kesalahan umum: I will can finish the report tomorrow. → I will be able to finish the report tomorrow.
Will dan can sama-sama modal, dan dua modal tidak bisa berdampingan. Ganti can dengan be able to, atau cukup bilang I can finish the report tomorrow.
Minta izin & minta tolong
- Can I + V1? = Boleh saya…? Can I use this desk?
- Could I + V1? = versi yang lebih sopan. Could I ask a question?
- Can / Could you + V1? = Bisa tolong…? Could you call me back? Pakai could untuk atasan dan klien.
- You can / can't + V1 = boleh / tidak boleh. You can't smoke here.
Di sini could tidak bicara soal masa lalu. Artinya sama dengan can, hanya lebih halus.
Coba ingat cara kamu chat atasan: "Pak, kira-kira bisa approve hari ini?" Kata "kira-kira" tidak mengubah waktunya, cuma melunakkan permintaanmu. Could di Could you…? juga begitu: bentuknya lampau, tapi permintaannya untuk sekarang, hanya lebih halus.
- Could I borrow your charger for a minute?Boleh saya pinjam charger-mu sebentar?
- Can you share your screen, please?Bisa tolong bagikan layarmu?
- Sorry, you can't park here. It's for guests.Maaf, Anda tidak boleh parkir di sini. Ini khusus tamu.
Menjawab permintaan: Sure. / Of course. / No problem. Menolak dengan sopan: Sorry, I can't right now. Jangan jawab Could you…? dengan Yes, I could. Kesannya cuma "bisa saja sih", bukan "siap, saya kerjakan".
Kesalahan khas orang Indonesia
Kata "bisa" tidak pernah berubah, mau kemarin atau besok. Di bahasa Inggris, waktunya ikut menentukan: kemarin jadi could / couldn't, dan setelah will jadi will be able to.
Tiga kesalahan lain yang sering muncul di chat kantor:
- Menambah to: I can to help you ✗ → I can help you ✓
- Menambah -s: She can speaks ✗ → She can speak ✓
- Dua modal: I will can ✗ → I will be able to ✓
Kesalahan umum: I can't come to the office yesterday. → I couldn't come to the office yesterday.
Ada yesterday, jadi kejadiannya sudah lewat. Can't ikut mundur jadi couldn't.
Ingat!
- Setelah can / could selalu V1: She can speak, bukan can speaks atau can to speak.
- Negatif: cannot (satu kata) atau can't. Masa lalu: could / couldn't.
- Setelah will, have, atau modal lain, pakai be able to: will be able to, have been able to. Jangan will can.
- Can I…? untuk minta izin. Can / Could you…? untuk minta tolong, dan could lebih sopan.
Contoh soal Can, Could, Be Able To dan pembahasannya
1. Dimas ___ speak Japanese very well.
- cans
- can
- can to
- is can
Lihat jawaban
Jawaban: can
Can tidak pernah berubah, walaupun subject-nya Dimas (satu orang). Jadi can speak, tanpa -s, to, atau is.
2. Last year I ___ speak English well, but now I can.
- can't
- don't can
- couldn't
- wasn't can
Lihat jawaban
Jawaban: couldn't
Ada last year, jadi ini kemampuan di masa lalu: couldn't. Don't can dan wasn't can tidak ada, karena can tidak pernah dipasangkan dengan do atau was.
3. Pilih kalimat yang benar.
- I haven't can call the client yet.
- I haven't could call the client yet.
- I haven't able to call the client yet.
- I haven't been able to call the client yet.
Lihat jawaban
Jawaban: I haven't been able to call the client yet.
Haven't … yet itu present perfect, dan can tidak punya bentuk untuk tense ini. Penggantinya have been able to, jadi haven't been able to call.
4. — Could you print this document for me? — ___
- Yes, I could.
- Sure, no problem.
- Yes, you could.
Lihat jawaban
Jawaban: Sure, no problem.
Could you…? di sini permintaan, bukan pertanyaan soal kemampuan dulu. Jawaban yang pas: Sure, no problem. Yes, I could kesannya cuma "bisa saja", belum tentu mau.
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