Can be told vs Could be told

Both 'can be told' and 'could be told' are correct, but they are used in different contexts. 'Can be told' is used to express general ability or possibility in the present or future, while 'could be told' is used to express possibility or ability in the past or in a hypothetical situation.

Last updated: March 29, 2024 • 1444 views

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to express general ability or possibility in the present or future.

"Can be told"

Use 'can be told' to indicate that something has the ability or possibility to be narrated or communicated in the present or future.

Examples:

The story can be told in many different ways.
The truth can be told without fear of consequences.
The details can be told at a later time.

Show examples from the web [+]

But now it can be told.
As someone who can be told any diagnostic information.
This is not a story that can be told from the governor's mansion.
The church needs to conduct an investigation before anyone can be told.
They can be told it's not necessary yet.
It's not a sort of thing you can be told.
He was somebody who reminded me of how powerful the American story can be told through music.
A literary style as can be told takes the form, language, fluency and clarity.
I said what was necessary to get out of prison for a crime I didn't commit, and now I'd like your help so that the truth can be told.
Everything can be told among us, no?
We have to let that old story go so that a new story, a truer story, can be told.
So I can be told I'm sick by some macho know-it-all jackass in scrubs?
Everything can be told among us, no?
IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT CAN BE TOLD.
But when you take a close look, you start to see the holes, and you start to see that the story can be told in many other ways.
Apart from the fact that they are subject to the requirements of the regulation, they can be told that some countries are already operating the system perfectly happily.
This is all you can know, all you can be told.
And never can be told
They can be told it's not necessary yet.
There are a lot of truths that can be told today, Dylan. "Jugg" -fulls.

Alternatives:

may be told
might be told
will be told
is able to be told
is possible to be told

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to express possibility or ability in the past or in a hypothetical situation.

"Could be told"

Use 'could be told' to indicate that something had the possibility or ability to be narrated or communicated in the past or in a hypothetical situation.

Examples:

The story could be told in many different ways.
The truth could be told without fear of consequences.
The details could be told at a later time.

Show examples from the web [+]

But they could be told that their spots would have more punch, wherever they air, if Jimmy's on a hit television show.
But they could be told that their spots would have more punch, wherever they air, if Jimmy's on a hit television show.
Eisenstein felt that this unusual country... deserved an unusual film and that Mexico's tragic story... could be told without actors or sets.
Hence the request I made was addressed to the chair so that its validity could be evaluated and we could be told this morning what the state of affairs was.
As a kid I always loved information that I could get from data and the stories that could be told with numbers.
I became persuaded that this was a strong story which could be told in many different ways, but which had a very, very strong structure because it skipped a 30-year period and skipped a generation.
If you look at 9/11 in isolation, it's unbelievable to think that we could be told such a huge lie, but if you look at the broad picture of history, you can see that staging attacks

Alternatives:

was able to be told
had the ability to be told
had the possibility of being told
might have been told
was possible to be told

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Can be told vs Could be told

"Can be told"

"Could be told"

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