en
cs
da
de
it
plCommon errors concerning 能, 会/會 and 可以
The three modal verbs 能, 会/會, and 可以 are frequently used in similar contexts and are mostly not distinguished when translated into Western languages (for example, “can” in English), which may cause confusion among learners.
The possible mistakes learners might make can be categorized into the following three types:
Incorrect position
Learners might place 能, 会/會 and 可以 in the wrong position in more complex sentences, such as in A-not-A questions or in sentences with prepositional phrases or bǎ-constructions.
*你能去不去帮我买东西？
你能不能去帮我买东西？
*我给奶奶不会打电话。
我不会给奶奶打电话。
*你把你的学习方法可以不可以给我们介绍一下儿？
你可以不可以把你的学习方法给我们介绍一下儿？
*你能去不去幫我買東西？
你能不能去幫我買東西？
*我給奶奶不會打電話。
我不會給奶奶打電話。
*你把你的學習方法可以不可以給我們介紹一下兒？
你可以不可以把你的學習方法給我們介紹一下兒？
Confusion of 能 and 会 while expressing ability and capability
Due to overlapping functions and translations, learners often use 能, 会/會 and 可以 wrongly. When comparing the modal verbs, it is important to remind the learners that 能, 会/會 and 可以 have different connotations: When translated as “can”, 能 is commonly used to indicate the possession of an ability, whereas 会/會 implies a learned or acquired ability. The modal verb 可以 is typically used when giving or asking for permission.
For explanations, see here (link to function 1 “néng 能 and and huì 会/會 expressing ability or capability” in Comparison: Modal verb néng 能 ‘can’, huì 会/會 ‘can; know how to’ and kěyǐ 可以‘may, can, be allowed to’ )
While expressing ability or capability, learners often form such sentences:
*我的手机会上网，电脑不会上网。
我的手机能上网，电脑不能上网。
*哥哥会喝十杯可乐。
哥哥能喝十杯可乐。
*我的手機會上網，電腦不會上網。
我的手機能上網，電腦不能上網。
*哥哥會喝十杯可樂。
哥哥能喝十杯可樂。
Confusion of 能 and 可以 both expressing possibility
For explanations, see here (link to function 2 “néng 能 and kěyǐ 可以 expressing the possibility” in Comparison: Modal verb néng 能 ‘can’, huì 会/會 ‘can; know how to’ and kěyǐ 可以 ‘may, can, be allowed to’ )
The modal verbs 能 and 可以 can be used in “possibility-requiring” questions. Problems for learners often occur when they respond to questions containing one of these modal verbs.
A：你能教大家说英语吗？
B：*能。
B：可以/行。
B：*不能。
B：不行。
A：你可以不可以教大家说英语？
B：*不可以。
B：不行。
A：你能教大家說英語嗎？
B：*能。
B：可以/行。
B：*不能。
B：不行。
A：你可以不可以教大家說英語？
B：*不可以。
B：不行。
Confusion of 能 and 可以 when expressing permission
For explanations, see here (link to function 3 “néng 能 and kěyǐ 可以 expressing permission” in Comparison: Modal verb néng 能 ‘can’, huì 会/會 ‘can; know how to’ and kěyǐ 可以‘may, can, be allowed to’ )
Some learners may use 能 to answer “permission-requiring” questions, like:
A：请问，我能在这儿吃东西吗？/ 我可以在这儿吃东西吗？
B：*能。
B：可以。
B：*不能。
B：不行。
A：請問，我能在這兒吃東西嗎？/ 我可以在這兒吃東西嗎？
B：*能。
B：可以。
B：*不能。
B：不行。
Confusion between 能 and potential complement (可能补语)
This is another common mistake learners often make after they learn the potential complement, which also indicates a possibility.
我能听懂老师说的话。
我听得懂老师说的话。
他不能进去。≠ 他进不去。
我能聽懂老師說的話。
我聽得懂老師說的話。
他不能進去。≠ 他進不去。
When indicating possibility in an affirmative sentence, 能 and the potential complement are sometimes interchangeable. However, in a negation or interrogative sentence, 能 is often used in connection with “allowance” or “permission.” A potential complement, on the other hand, is used to indicate the situational possibility of realizing the action of the verb. In the examples above, 他不能进去/他不能進去 means that he is not allowed to go in, while 他进不去/他進不去 means that he tries to enter somewhere but fails because external circumstances such as too many people inside or a locked door prevent him from entering.
Errors caused by native transfer
能, 会/會 and 可以 can all be translated as “can” in English. However, English can can express up to 11 different meanings, and this degree of polysemy is confusing for students. English can is also used in textbooks to translate these three modal verbs. Therefore, native English learners easily confuse 能 with 会/會 and 可以.
Classroom activity
Create unambiguous contexts for students in which they have to choose between 能, 会/會 and 可以. Here are some typical situations:
- Talking about personal situations or hobbies:
你的同学会不会说法语？
你的同學會不會說法語？
你的同学会打网球吗？
你的同學會打網球嗎？
谁(不)会做中国菜？
誰不會做中國菜？
你能喝几杯啤酒？
你能喝幾杯啤酒？ - Asking for permissions：
如果你家没有人，你的朋友可以进去吗？
如果你家沒有人，你的朋友可以進去嗎？
你现在能不能给大家你的手机号码？
你現在能不能給大家你的手機號碼？
Remind the learner that the employment of 能 is to emphasize “possession of a certain ability”, as if saying “to be capable to…”, whereas 会/會 implies that the ability or skill is learned or acquired, as if saying “to know how to…”.
In the previous example, 上网/上網 is not a “learned skill” of the mobile phone. 喝十杯可乐/喝十杯可樂 ‘drink ten glasses of Coke’ as an object of 会喝/會喝 also does not convey the sense of ‘can drink’ because being able to drink a certain amount is due to one’s physical constitution and not a learned skill. Instead, the use of 会/會 in this sentence is perceived as “my elder brother will drink ten glasses of Coke”, because 会/會 can be used to indicate a future event (see grammar 会/會: indicating prediction or belief about a future event.)
To avoid confusing learners when comparing modal verbs, first focus on affirmative forms and provide unambiguous contexts. Here are some example sentences for comparison:
妹妹会写汉字，因为她学过。
妹妹會寫漢字，因為她學過。
(highlight: the sense of “learned” ability or skill)
王老师能帮你忙。
王老師能幫你忙。
(highlight: the sense of “possession of a certain ability”)
Tell the students that when talking about an ability or a capability in the sense of a (learned) skill, they should use 会/會. Provide frequently used unambiguous collocations, for example, 会说一种语言/會說一種語言、会开车/會開車、会跳舞/會跳舞、会唱歌/會唱歌……. Remind the students that these phrases can be modified by degree adverbs and degree adverbial phrases such as 很、真、不太, etc.
Explain the ways of answering questions with 能 and 可以 explicitly. Create unambiguous contexts for students to practice the question-answer pair. For example:
Teacher：十岁的孩子可以不可以喝酒？Student：不行。
Teacher：十歲的孩子可以不可以喝酒？Student：不行。
Teacher：二十岁的人呢？Student：可以。
Teacher：二十歲的人呢？Student：可以。
Teacher：考试的时候可以用手机吗？Student：可以/不行。
Teacher：考試的時候可以用手機嗎？Student：可以/不行。
Teacher：你现在能写一个你喜欢的汉字吗？Student：可以/行/不行。
Teacher：你現在能寫一個你喜歡的漢字嗎？Student：可以/行/不行。
Néng 能 is also commonly used to indicate that something is objectively possible (or impossible) in the context of a specific situation or reason that is explicitly mentioned. Learners may make the mistake of using 可以 here:
*弟弟生病了，所以今天不可以来上课。
弟弟生病了，所以今天不能来上课。
*弟弟生病了，所以今天不可以來上課。
弟弟生病了，所以今天不能來上課。？
Use similar sentences with 能 and 可以 to demonstrate the difference. Here are some examples:
他受伤了，所以不能走路。
他受伤了，医生说他不可以走路。
他受傷了，所以不能走路。
他受傷了，醫生說他不可以走路。
我最近没有时间跟女朋友见面，只能打电话。
*我最近没有时间跟女朋友见面，只可以打电话。
(this sentence is not acceptable, because the speaker doesn’t need any permission to call the girlfriend)
我最近沒有時間跟女朋友見面，只能打電話。
*我最近沒有時間跟女朋友見面，只可以打電話。
(this sentence is not acceptable, because the speaker doesn’t need any permission to call the girlfriend)
Explain positive and negative answers to questions with 可以 explicitly. Create unambiguous contexts for students to practice the question-answer pair. For example:
Teacher：上课的时候，学生可以喝水吗？Student：可以。
Teacher：上課的時候，學生可以喝水嗎？Student：可以。
Teacher：上课的时候，学生可以睡觉吗？Student：不行。
Teacher：上課的時候，學生可以睡覺嗎？Student：不行。
Some learners may use 能 for a suggestion:
*如果你不想回家，能来我家。
如果你不想回家，可以来我家。
*如果你不想回家，能來我家。
如果你不想回家，可以來我家。
*渴了吗？你能喝这杯水。
渴了吗？你可以喝这杯水。
*渴了嗎？你能喝這杯水。
渴了嗎？你可以喝這杯水。
Explain this way of proposing suggestions with 可以 explicitly. Create unambiguous contexts for students to practice the question-answer pair. For example:
Teacher: 我现在觉得很不舒服，你们觉得我可以做什么？
Teacher: 我現在覺得很不舒服，你們覺得我可以做什麼？
Students: 你可以去看医生/休息/吃药/睡觉……
Students: 你可以去看醫生/休息/吃藥/睡覺……
Use minimal pairs to demonstrate the differences. For example,
A student asks the teacher whether his friend is allowed to come into the classroom. He may say:
老师，他能进来吗？
老師，他能進來嗎？
The door of the classroom is locked. A student standing outside the classroom tries to open the door. The other students in the classroom may ask:
老师，他进得来吗？
老師，他進得來嗎？
Remind the students that not all of the potential complement patterns can be used interchangeably with 能, for example 吃得下、买得起/買得起、跑不动/跑不動.