🎸 Can You Ski? — Can & Can't, Intonation
In Lesson 26 you used can to ask for help. Today, can means ability: what you are able to do! "I can swim, but I can't ski." You will also learn how your voice goes up ↗ or down ↘ — that's called intonation.
The School Talent Show
Read the little scene below.
🤔 What can you do for a talent show?
💪 Can & Can't For Ability
Use can to talk about ability. can is followed by the base form of the verb.
✅ can + verb
- I can swim.
- She can skate.
- Nora can cook a great couscous!
🚫 can't / cannot + verb
- He can't surf.
- I cannot cook.
- Oscar can't cook. 😄
can has two negative forms: can't and cannot. They have the same meaning, but when we are speaking, we usually say can't. And can is the same for everyone: she can ✅ — never "she cans" ❌ or "she can to swim" ❌.
🌟 The Talent Board
Click a square to make a sentence about each kid. Switch to question mode to ask and answer!
❓ Can You…? — Yes, I Can!
To form a question, switch can with the subject. Answer with a short answer.
❓ Questions
- Can you ski?
- Can she play chess?
- What sports can they play?
💬 Short answers
- Yes, I can.
- No, she can't.
- They can play volleyball and handball.
👂 Can Or Can't?
Listen carefully! In a sentence, can is short and soft (/kən/), can't is longer and stronger (/kænt/). 8 rounds.
🎵 Intonation — Up ↗ Or Down ↘?
Intonation is the music of your voice: it goes up (rising) or down (falling). It can change the meaning or show an emotion.
↘ Falling
- Statements: He can skate. ↘ · She can't play the guitar. ↘
- Wh- questions (what, where, when, how): What sport do you like? ↘ · Where is my guitar? ↘
↗ Rising
- Yes / no questions: Can you swim? ↗ · Do you like playing soccer? ↗
- A statement as a question: He can do yoga? ↗
- Surprise: You can't swim? ↗ · He doesn't like soccer? ↗
🎚️ The Intonation Lab
Read the sentence. Does the voice go up ↗ or down ↘ at the end? Then listen! 8 rounds.
Listen And Repeat!
Click 🔊 Listen to hear the phrase, 🐢 Slowly to hear it slower, then 🎙️ My turn and say it out loud into your microphone!
✍️ Practice Time!
Exercise 1 — True Or False?
Exercise 2 — Complete The Dialogue
Fill in the missing word in each line of the conversation.
🎭 Create & Record: The Talent Show Interview
Interview a friend for the school talent show: ask "Can you…?", answer with Yes, I can / No, I can't, and say one thing you can do. Watch your intonation ↗ ↘!
🎙️ Now, Record It!
Act out your conversation out loud (alone with both voices, or with a friend) and record yourselves. Then listen back!
🎯 Final Quiz — Can & Intonation
Answer 7 questions to test everything you learned in this lesson!