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There are not that many words in English that can, without any change in their grammar structure, be both a verb, a noun, several slang nouns, and a transitive verb (that is the one that derived from the noun). The verbal meaning of can came to our language from either Old High German kan (in modern German it is kann and has the same meaning as English can) or from Old English's cuban which meant to know more. If we think for a moment about the meaning of being able to do something as can prescribes us to behave we cannot deny the fact that it must absolutely involve some knowledge of how to do that. Thus I tend to believe that Old English's origin of can is more convincing. Since every subjects examination starts with identification and understanding of the matter we start by looking up the word can in the Merriam-Websters Collegiate Dictionary and see that it has several usage variants, many of which include physiological participles. The first meaning and the most obvious and common usage of can to us all is to be able to do something, to know how to do something.
In this context the commonly used synonym of can is may, but often the speaker does not know the exact meanings of two words, which are quite confusing, and mismatches them in his writings or speaking. The controversy of these words usage is in the fact that both express the idea of giving or requesting permission, but at the same time the word can is more concerned with somebody's individual ability to perform a task, while may is a more formal way of dealing with the matter and asks for another partys permission to do something. I would like to stress here that even though both can and may are verbs, they are never used in the indefinite form, meaning that we do not say to may or to can (well, we do but it has a completely another meaning which will be discussed later). For example: we have an option of doing something we can but in order not to break the future course of either action or occurrence we may not do it. Probably this misunderstanding is caused by the fact that word can is a relatively modern for English language word which still has not found its right position in the contemporary phraseological regulations.
Historical studies show that the first recorded usage of can in the same idiomatic meaning as may is dated with 1870, and since then it has undoubtedly taken over may in our everyday usage (Merriam-Webster 243). We must note that can is more common to use in the negative context (can not) than may. In this case cant can show the subjunctive mood of the speaker. When someone says: Lets see if we cant finish the project by midnight, he does not necessarily wants to see if they will not succeed in the projects completion but instead, his intent is to finish though the great chance of uncertainty exists (Bernstein 132). As for me, I have found a good explanation of the difference between can and may in the following saying.
The sentence uses the words in somewhat following matter: The teacher in the class told us, that just because we CAN go to the bathroom, we MAY not (Copperrud 58). To understand the meaning of the words even better I view them in the following way: can is a definite intention to do something (I can study well), while may requires some thinking on the subject (I may cross the street here but I dont want to). Regarding the commonly used form of can in the past tense, all of the dictionaries agreed that could is a very polite form of expressing someones expectations of other persons future activity. Rather than saying the phrase like: Would you please come here, which possesses something of imperative mode, saying: Could you please come here, contents some sort of uncertainty whether the request will be fulfilled. It is recommended to use could in speaking since it shows an expectation but does not obligate the other party to do what was asked (Fowler 187). Grammarians suggest us to view the acceptable application of can as a substitution of may only in spoken language.
This theory is supported by the fact that modern day people have learned the idiomatic expressions using can from the early childhood years, like when parents told them: It is only after you clean your room you can go outside and play. Therefore, as a part of everyday spoken language this use of can is perfectly natural. Nevertheless viewing from a more formal use of can versus may only 22 percent of researchers support the acceptability of can in such a sentence as: Can I use another source in writing of the paper? Here it is suggested that can is replaced with may since it is the other persons decision to allow us to use another source or not. From that point of view may is a more appropriate verb to use in the official language environment.
One more use of can is in the idiomatic forms. The phraseologist to be in the can is understood as to be ready for something. I believe it has nothing to do with the noun meaning of can but more with its verb explanation. It is possible to say be in the can when you believe in somebody's ability to act, or somethings readiness.
Most of the usage dictionaries propose us to use phraseologism's the more the better, for they make our speech more intelligent and developed from the linguistic point of view. For example, to describe a task that is of a great difficulty to us we can use many descriptive adjectives or we can simply say: A can of worms. There is an explanation which says that the phraseologist came from on of the Murphy laws that says: If you open a can of worms, the only way to put them back in the can is to use one of a greater capacity (Bernstein 133). A very good phraseologist that means to bear a responsibility for something in the case when it goes wrong, often implying someone others fault goes like this: to carry a can. The Fowler's usage dictionary agrees on the idea of accepting this phraseologist in the everyday speaking for the phrase bears American roots of the nineteenth century (Fowler 187). Let us now explore another aspect of the transitive verb can which originates from the noun can (we will get back to noun examination).
In our language can also means: to preserve a physical matter in a hermetically sealed container. The word was born in 1861, it is probably then when people invented the technological process of conservation of the food or any other quickly spoiling good. And since the noun can a storage vessel, usually a cylindrical receptacle - already existed, there were no need of creating a new noun describing the act of preservation, so we began naming this process canning. As we can see now the word can is a very interest word to examine, and it will become even more interesting with the flow of time. Our language is changing fast, many words that were popular recently became archaic today, and who knows maybe in the future the word can will completely replace may in its usage. Until then the dictionaries and grammarians agree on the fact that both words have their unique meanings and application in our language.
Bibliography Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Websters Collegiate Dictionary. 10 th Index Edition. Merriam-Webster Inc. , NY: 1998. Copper, Roy H.
American Usage and Style: The Consensus. Van Nostrand Reinhold, N. Y: 1980. Bernstein, Theodore M.
The Dos, Dont's and Maybes of English Usage. Random House Value Publishing: 1999. H. W. Fowler. The New Fowler's Modern English Usage.
Revised by Robert Burch field. 3 rd. ed. Oxford University Press, NY: 1997.
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