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Generally the difference between "don't" and can't is very slight sometimes implying choice, or action based on belief or simple circumstance So for example "I don't read the Times" (choice and political belief - I don't like conservative newspapers) - "I can't read the Times" (circumstance - my eyesight is poor the print is small.
Dec 1, 2014 · That can't have been Tom - he was in Japan. That couldn't have been Tom - he was in Japan. (These are used to mean that the speaker didn't believe that.) Similarly, please take a look at the examples below: Tom can't be moving the furniture upstairs - he's at work right now. Tom couldn't be moving the furniture upstairs - he's at work right now.
Aug 20, 2012 · 1. Can't is less formal than cannot. That's the only difference. – Robusto. Aug 20, 2012 at 14:27. 5. I would personally insist on using cannot where the emphasis is on 'not': using can't in such a case would kind of drown out the more significant 'not' part. @Robusto I suspect it is not that simple (actually, hope not).
Feb 18, 2011 · As a non-native speaker, I feel that it is ridiculous that can and can't could sound so similar in American accent. Just now, I was just listening to a video in which the speaker with an American accent says. Fat cells can't reproduce themselves. The speaker dragged the word "can't" longer for emphasis, but perhaps as a result, what I heard at ...
Dec 26, 2013 · Can't you pick up the kids from church? This is a quick question stated in simplest terms. And it is stated in a positive way that, on its own, sounds as if the person asking it just needs clarification on something that has been previously discussed or acknowledged in some way, shape, or form.
Sep 18, 2014 · There are other explanations for poor impulse control, including the obvious: you want to be rude. Explaining my poor manners, I may explain to her, "I can't help staring at that beautiful necklace" or "I can't help but ask how you managed to get home after your car was stolen." The two forms, with and without but, are equivalent.
The only possible difference would be that "can't" may imply that you know by experience, or have proven, that the task is impossible for you, where "won't be able to" is an untested but highly confident hypothesis of the impossibility. Share. Improve this answer. Follow. edited Jul 1, 2011 at 19:57.
Mar 18, 2020 · Your friend: I don't like John. You: Nor do I/ neither do I. If your friend says something positive and you agree with them you can use 'so'. For example: Your friend: I like Alice. You: So do I. You can say "neither can I." or "I can't either." In the first case, the negation is in the word "neither"; in the second case, it is contracted with ...
Jun 3, 2019 · 1. Both sentences are fine. People speak differently I don't believe there's a difference besides the contraction. Share. Improve this answer. edited Jun 5, 2019 at 17:09. answered Jun 3, 2019 at 17:56.
Dec 4, 2015 · 3. I can't swim here - this does not necessarily mean you do not know how to, it can also be because you are bound by some rules etc (you may be banned from the pool, say). I am not able to swim here - this necessarily means that you do not know how to. You are allowed to but you can't because you don't have the skill/confidence etc.
