Could is also used to talk about ability in the present, but it has a special meaning. If you say that someone could do something, you mean that they have the ability to do it, but they don't in fact do it.

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 …

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.

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We use could to ask for permission. Could is more formal and polite than can: Could I ask you a personal question?

Definition of could modal verb in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

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