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Learning Objectives

2 minutes reading
✓
Ask for permission politely with can, could, and may
✓
Express ability using can and be able to
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Use could for past ability and polite requests
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Discuss availability and resource planning
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Key for this lesson

Can = ability + informal permission. Could = polite permission + past ability. Be able to = ability in all tenses.

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Grammar Explanation

4 minutes reading
Permission

Asking for Permission

Can/Could/May + I + base verb?

Informal: "Can I use your laptop?"

Polite: "Could I leave early today?"

Formal: "May I ask a question?"

Can I...?Could I...?May I...?
Ability

Expressing What You Can Do

Can + verb / Be able to + verb

Present: "I can speak French."

Future: "Will you be able to join?"

Past: "I was able to finish on time."

cancouldbe able to
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Politeness Scale

Can I...? (casual) → Could I...? (polite) → May I...? (formal). Use "could" with managers and clients!

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Context & Professional Usage

5 minutes reading

Permission Requests

🏖️Leave: "Could I take Friday off?"
📅Scheduling: "Can I reschedule our meeting?"
🖨️Resources: "May I use the conference room?"
📞Calls: "Could I put you on hold?"

Ability & Availability

👤Skills: "I can manage large budgets."
📊Future: "Will you be able to join the call?"
✅Past success: "We were able to meet the deadline."
🌐Languages: "She can speak three languages."
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Business English Examples

6 minutes reading
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Correct Professional Usage

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"Could I borrow your charger?"

Polite permission request

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"Will you be able to attend the conference?"

Future ability

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"I was able to resolve the issue quickly."

Past ability - specific achievement

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"She can work independently and is able to manage multiple projects."

Skills description

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Common Business Mistakes

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"Can I take Friday off?" (to manager)

Use: "Could I take Friday off?" (more polite)

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"I could finish the report yesterday."

Use: "I was able to finish..." (past achievement)

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"Will you can join the meeting?"

Use: "Will you be able to join?" (can't combine modals)

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Professional Listening Exercise

6 minutes

Listen to Sarah, a Team Leader, having a review meeting with Mark about a marketing campaign:

🎵Audio: Marketing Campaign Review
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0:00 / 0:00
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Speed:

Sarah (Team Leader): Hi Mark, thanks for coming in. Could I take a few minutes to review Q3 marketing campaign? Overall, it was a success, so well done.

Mark: Thanks, Sarah. It was a big project, but the team delivered.

Sarah: First, the positives. We were able to increase our social media engagement by 15%, which was our main goal. Your team did a fantastic job there. You were also able to get the new video ads launched a week ahead of schedule. How did you manage that? It was very impressive.

Mark: We really pushed hard. The content team worked overtime to make sure everything was ready on time.

Sarah: Now, let's talk about what we could do better next time. Looking back, I think we should have involved the sales team earlier in the planning process. We got some feedback that they couldn't use our materials easily because they weren't designed for their sales platform. It caused some friction. We should have anticipated that.

Mark: I understand. That's a good point for future campaigns.

Sarah: Also, on the budget, we went slightly over. We shouldn't have approved the extra spend on influencer collaborations without a clearer ROI projection.

Mark: Noted. Anything else?

Sarah: For the future, I want to make sure you have the resources you need. Will you be able to handle Q4 campaign with your current team, or should we consider getting a freelancer? Let me know what you think. I believe with these lessons, we'll be able to achieve even better results next quarter.

Question 1: What was the main success of the Q3 campaign?

Question 2: What does Sarah think they should have done differently?

Question 3: According to Sarah, why couldn't the sales team use the marketing materials?

Question 4: Complete: "We got some feedback that they __________ use our materials easily..."

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Quick Comprehension Quiz

4 minutes
1

Polite request to your manager for time off:

ACan I take tomorrow off?
BCould I take tomorrow off?
CI take tomorrow off?
2

Asking about future availability:

AWill you can attend?
BWill you be able to attend?
CCould you attend?
3

Describing a past achievement:

AI could finish on time.
BI was able to finish on time.
CI can finished on time.
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Professional Practice Exercises

7 minutes

Exercise A: Choose the correct form

1. _______ I leave the meeting early? (polite)

2. _______ you _______ attend the conference next week? (future ability)

3. She _______ speak Japanese fluently. (present ability)

4. We _______ complete the project despite the challenges. (past achievement)

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Speaking Preparation

4 minutes
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Preparation for Class

Practice asking for permission and describing abilities.

🙋 Task 1: Permission Requests (1 min)

Practice polite permission requests: Could I...? May I...?

💪 Task 2: Skills (2 min)

Describe your professional skills using can and be able to.

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Module 3 Complete!

Key structures: Must/Have to (obligation), Should (advice), Could/May (permission), Be able to (ability)
Next: Module 4 - Polite Requests and Communication

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