/ˈkænɒt/
Translation
Used to say that you are not able to do something, or that you are not allowed to do it.
Word origin
A joining of can and not, written as one word since the 1400s.
- Origin
- English
- Root
- can + not
Grammar
Examples
.
"Cannot" is "can not" written as one word.
.
Here "cannot" means it is not allowed.
.
Here "cannot" means she is not able to do it.
Used in
Stories
(7)Grammar articles
(38)Adjective order in English: opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material, purpose
Advanced articles in English: the zero article, the with names and places, and go to school vs go to the school
Articles in English: a, an, the and the zero article
Both, either and neither in English: the two-of-something words, agreement traps, and Me neither
British vs American grammar: have got, gotten, the team are, and the other quiet differences
Cleft sentences in English: it was X who, what I need is, and how to move the emphasis
Compound nouns in English: car park, coffee cup, and why GREENhouse is not green HOUSE
Countable and uncountable nouns in English: advice, information, news and the ones you simply have to learn
Ellipsis and substitution in English: I think so, neither do I, and the words you are allowed to leave out
Emphasis in English: I do like it, my own, the very, and how to push back
For, since, already, yet and still in English: which word, and where it goes in the sentence
Hedging and vague language in English: sort of, a bit, -ish, stuff and or so
Indirect questions in English: Could you tell me where the station is, and the word order that goes with it
Inversion and word order in English: the subject-verb-object spine and when it flips
Irregular verbs in English: the full list by pattern
Linking words in English: however, although, despite, whereas and therefore
Modal verbs in English: rules, examples and how to use them
Nominalisation in English: arrive becomes arrival, decide becomes decision, and why written English turns actions into things
Participle clauses in English: -ing and -ed clauses, and the dangling participle trap
Advanced passive structures in English: the get-passive, it is said that, and passives with two objects
Passive voice in English: rules, examples and when to use it
Past continuous tense: was and were plus -ing, and when to use it instead of the past simple
Past modals in English: should have, could have, must have and might have
Past perfect tense: had plus past participle, and when English actually needs it
Phrasal verbs in English: rules, examples and how to use them
Present continuous tense: form, spelling and uses
Present perfect continuous: have been doing, and how it differs from the present perfect
Present perfect tense: rules, examples and when to use it
Quantifiers in English: some, any, much, many and more
Question tags in English: the mirror rule, aren't I, and tags after let's and imperatives
Relative clauses in English: defining, non-defining and when to drop the pronoun
Reporting verbs in English: admit, deny, suggest, promise, and the pattern welded to each one
So, such, too and enough in English: words of degree and result
The subjunctive and the unreal past in English: I suggest he go, if I were you, and it's time we left
Used to, would and be used to: talking about past habits and states in English
Wish and if only in English: wish + past, wish + past perfect, wish + would, and why I wish I would is wrong
Word formation with prefixes: un-, in-, im-, dis-, re-, over-, under- and mis-
Word formation in English: how suffixes build word families and give away the part of speech
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Go to my review queueThis word is part of lesson 12.