How do you use the word "could" in a sentence?

Q: How do you use the word "could" in a sentence?

Here are real-life examples of using "could": If the world weren't in the shape it is now, I could trust anyone. Let's consider the worst that could happen.

Could Meaning

/kəd/

Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Definition

verbsimple past of can

verbconditional of can, Used as a past subjunctive (contrary to fact).

Sentence Examples

If the world weren't in the shape it is now, I could trust anyone.

Let's consider the worst that could happen.

I was amazed at the amount he could eat.

CEFR Practice Quiz

When he was younger, he ____ run a mile in under five minutes.

CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)

If the world weren't in the shape it is now, I ____ trust anyone.

Word Origin & History

From Middle English coude, couthe, cuthe, from Old English cūþe, past indicative and past subjunctive form of cunnan (“to be able”) (compare related cūþ, whence English couth). Cognate with German konnte, Swedish kunde. The -l- in the spelling was added in the early 16th century by analogy with should and would; this analogy formerly affected the pronunciation as well and was probably assisted by the tendency for /l/ to be lost in those words (and so not written, leading to shudd, wode, etc).

Literary Quotations & Historical Citations

""If I'd had a paddle I could've spun by that dashed root," Meekins said, feeling some apology due for the mishap. "When I first climbed out of that fool creek I thought my arm had got twisted off, but I guess it ain't."" — 1921, William Alexander Fraser, Red Meekins, George H. Doran Company, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 32:

"Even without hovering drones, a lurking assassin, a thumping score and a denouement, the real-life story of Edward Snowden, a rogue spy on the run, could be straight out of the cinema. But, as with Hollywood, the subplots and exotic locations may distract from the real message: America’s discomfort and its foes’ glee." — 2013 June 29, “Travels and travails”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 55:

"I haven't could sleep." — 1981, Anthony Warner, English Auxiliaries: Structure and History, published 1993, →ISBN, page 222:

"When the golf ball is there, the whole self-interference package — the hopes, worries, and fears; the thoughts on how-to and how-not-to; the woulds, the coulds, and the shoulds — is there too." — 1996, Fred Shoemaker, Extraordinary Golf: The Art of the Possible, page 88:

"Shushona you must learn to rightfully prioritize all the woulds, shoulds and coulds of your life." — 2010, Shushona Novos, The Personal Universal: A Guidebook for Spiritual Evolution, page 395:

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