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. Definition of could modal verb in oxford advanced learner's dictionary.

Learn about the modal verbs can and could and do the exercises to practise using them. The meaning of could is Ò€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 Ò€¦ 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. A simple past tense of can. See examples of could used in a sentence. Past simple of can, used to talk about what someone or something was able or allowed to doÒ€¦.

A simple past tense of can. See examples of could used in a sentence. Past simple of can, used to talk about what someone or something was able or allowed to doÒ€¦. Learn more.