What Can I Do Here?
Last class, can meant "I know how". This class it means "it is allowed". Same word, same easy form, completely different job — and signs on a wall are where you meet it.
Warm-up
Short answers. Tap a card when you have answered it.
Signs almost never use full sentences. They say No Photos, not You can't take photos here. So you have to turn three words into a rule in your head. That is the whole lesson.
Useful language
What does the sign mean?
Click a sign, then click its meaning. Correct pairs turn green. The audio button says the words on the sign.
Complete the rules
Click a word in the bank, then click a gap. Click a filled gap to clear it.
Shh! The baby is sleeping, so you can't sing
_____ in her room.
The café gives you a password, so you can watch videos on the
_____ with your phone.
The sign has a camera with a red line on it, so you can't take
_____ here.
They don't want cash, but you can pay by
_____ here.
The door has a small sign with a man and a woman on it: you can wash your hands in the
_____ here.
There is an empty space for your car in this parking lot, so you can
_____ here.
The door is open and the sign says "Welcome": you can
_____ here.
The green sign with an arrow shows the way out: you can
_____ here.
First day at Greenfield School
Read the conversation. The audio button reads each part aloud.
Lina is a new student at Greenfield School, in Canada. It is her first day there. Alex is in her class, and he shows her the building.
"Hi! You must be Lina," says Alex. "Nice to meet you. Welcome to Greenfield School. Come with me."
"This is the library. You can read books here, but you can't use your cell phone. Look, it says No Cell Phones."
"What is this sign?" asks Lina. "That says Silence, please," says Alex. "You can't talk loudly." — "Quiet. I understand," says Lina.
"This is the computer room. You can use the internet here. There is free Wi-Fi." — "Oh, good! Can I eat here?" — "No, sorry. You can't eat or drink in this room."
"This is the main hall. We have events here. You can take pictures, but not in class." — "Hmm… no pictures in class?" — "Right. You can take photos after class."
"Thank you, Alex. The signs help me." — "You're welcome! If you're not sure, just ask."
Multiple choice
Click an answer and you get the result right away, with the reason.
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Where is Greenfield School?
First line of the text.
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Who is Lina?
And it is her first day.
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Who is Alex?
A classmate showing her around, not a member of staff.
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In the library you can:
The other two are the things you can't do there.
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What does the sign in the library say?
Three words, and the rule is clear.
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"Silence, please" means:
You can talk — quietly. It is not "no talking".
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In the computer room you can use:
There is free Wi-Fi.
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Can Lina eat in the computer room?
"You can't eat or drink in this room."
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Where does the school have its events?
That is the last place on the tour.
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Can students take photos during class?
"You can take pictures, but not in class."
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When can they take photos?
Alex says it twice, in two different ways.
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What does Alex tell Lina to do if she is not sure about a rule?
"If you're not sure, just ask." The best rule in the whole tour.
Can and can't for rules
Good news: the form is exactly the same as last class. No -s, no do, no to. Only the meaning changes — from "I know how" to "it is allowed".
- (+) You can read books here.
- (-) You can't talk loudly.
- (?) Can I eat here? — Yes, you can. / No, you can't.
- Same for everybody: I can, you can, he can, she can, we can, they can. Never he cans.
- Questions never use do: Can I sit here? — never Do I can sit here?
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Choose the correct question.
Can goes first and do never comes near it.
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"Can we take photos?" — Choose the correct short answer.
The answer always repeats the same word as the question.
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Choose the correct sentence.
No -s after she, and no to after can.
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The sign says Staff Only. So students…
Only is the strong word: teachers, and nobody else.
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What is the long form of can't?
It is the one negative in English that closes up into a single word.
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Which sentence is WRONG?
Can makes its own negative. It does not need help from do.
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Your friend asks "Can I park here?" and there is a No Parking sign. You say:
Careful with the last one: they asked about themselves, so answer you.
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Which sentence talks about a rule, not about ability?
Somebody decided it and could change it tomorrow. That is a rule.
Ability or permission?
- I can't swim. — In a pool: I never learned. Ability.
- I can't swim here. — Next to a sign: it is not allowed. Permission.
- The word here is a big clue. Rules belong to places; ability belongs to people.
- So is a sign. If somebody put it on a wall, it is a rule.
- And "Only at break" is a third answer: not yes, not no — yes at one time of day.
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"My brother can cook very well." This is about:
Nobody gave him permission to cook well. He learned.
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"You can't use your phone in the library." This is about:
The phone works fine. The library says no.
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"Can you drive?" is asking:
No place in the question, so it is about you, not about a rule.
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"Can we park here?" is asking:
The word here turns it into a rule question.
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"Students can use their phones only at break." This means:
Half a yes. Very common in real rules.
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Alex says "You can take pictures, but not in class." So in the main hall you:
But not in class takes away only the classroom.
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A visitor asks about a rule and you don't know the answer. You say:
Never invent a rule. Ask for the question one more time.
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Which one is a rule about a place?
Sign language, in the real sense: it belongs on a wall.
Write sentences with can or can't
Example: (-) You / use your phone in the library. → You can't use your phone in the library. Watch the sign in front of each line: (+) yes, (-) no, (?) question.
Keep the words in the order they are given. You only add can or can't — and for (?), you move can to the front and put a question mark at the end.
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-we / talk loudly in the library
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-you / have drinks in the computer room
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+Lina / use the Wi-Fi at school
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-you / take photos during class
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+I / check my phone after class
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?we / park at school
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?I / sit here
Fill the gap with can or can't and a verb
Choose from: take · bring · bring · drink · sit · sit. Write the two words together, for example can't take. Example: I'm in the library. I can't talk loudly here.
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aStudents ______ food or drinks into the computer room.
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bExcuse me. ______ here? (question, about me)
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cWe're in the classroom. We ______ photos during the lesson.
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dYou ______ water outside, but not near the computers.
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e______ snacks into the hall for the event? (question, about us)
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fSorry, you ______ in this area. It's for teachers only.
Role-play: first day at school
First I am a new student at your school and you answer my questions. Then we change: you arrive at mine.
Useful language
The rules of my place
60–100 words. Write the rules of your school, your office or your building for a person arriving on their first day. Use can three times and can't three times, and finish with one rule that has only in it.
My results
Check your score, then copy it and send it to your teacher on WhatsApp.
Homework you can do without a book. Photograph three signs on your way home. In class, tell me what each one means, in one sentence with can or can't.