if we can vs if we could

Both "if we can" and "if we could" are correct, but they are used in different contexts. "If we can" is used when talking about a present or future possibility. Meanwhile, "if we could" is used when talking about a hypothetical or unreal situation in the present or future.

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Editor at TextRanch

Last updated: January 12, 2025 • 7340 views

This phrase is correct and commonly used when talking about a present or future possibility.

"if we can"

Use "if we can" when discussing a situation where there is a real possibility of something happening in the present or future.

Examples:

If we can finish this project on time, we will celebrate.
I will join you for dinner if we can find a good restaurant nearby.

Show examples from the web [+]
Last updated: November 25, 2024

What's the Point If We Can't Have Fun? ... My friend June Thunderstorm and I once spent a half an hour sitting in a meadow by a mountain lake, watching an ...
Jul 21, 2023 ... Question: If we can kill our enemies, but can't jack them off, how are we better than them? Screenshot · r/rickandmorty - Look at this mf face ...
Oct 18, 2022 ... The question is: “Our client wants to know if we can identify which operating system their provided machine is running on. Submit the OS name as the answer.”
Jul 17, 2024 ... The fic I'm looking for specifically is: "We're No Saviors (If We Can't Save Our Brothers) by manzanitaposts.
Sep 8, 2019 ... First of all, even if we can no longer hope to be saved from two degrees of warming, there's still a strong practical and ethical case for ...
Oct 23, 2024 ... We find out in 14 days if we can have steak or ramen noodles for dinner.
Jun 30, 2024 ... Does it really matter if we can't produce "virgin steel" anymore? In short, not half as much as people might have you believe. But that ...
Jun 22, 2012 ... (B) Let's see if we can't solve this problem. Assuming they mean the same thing, (A) seems more natural to me. I'm thrown off when the negation ...
Democracy, If We Can Keep It · Ellis Cose · A vivid work of history and journalism—the definitive story of the ACLU and an essential account of America's ...
Dec 31, 2007 ... The negative is redundant. Let's see if we can find something to throw away. We will go up to the loft and maybe we will find something to throw away.

Alternatives:

if we are able to
if we manage to

This phrase is correct and commonly used when discussing hypothetical or unreal situations in the present or future.

"if we could"

Use "if we could" when talking about a situation that is not likely to happen or is imagined in the present or future.

Examples:

If we could travel back in time, what would you change?
I would buy a house in the countryside if we could afford it.

Show examples from the web [+]
Last updated: November 25, 2024

Aug 18, 2022 ... 81 votes, 31 comments. We can only see little bit of the spectrum we can see light that's about 400 nm so what if we could see all of the ...
Aug 13, 2021 ... 'if we could see what happens when we pray, we would never cease to pray' I just need to keep praying! It's that simple! Today I nearly gave up ...
Sep 18, 2022 ... If we could "see" Radio Waves, what would it look like? General Discussion. We can use thermal cams to see IR, we can visualize UV. So how ...
Oct 10, 2019 ... If we could see what happens when we pray, we would never cease to pray. Watch full message here: ...
Apr 29, 2019 ... I've been asked just how well If We Could Go Back stands alone, among the Camassia Cove series, so I'll address that first. It stands alone very ...
If We Could Have It Again. Romance. Loving someone is beautiful... Diya a 22 year old girl fell in love with the idea of love. When she saw his picture ...
May 16, 2024 ... "If we could spend time counting our blessings, one by one, rather than obsessing on our obstacles, we would realize how blessed we are, truly.".
Young People and America's Long Struggle for Racial Equality. By Rebecca de Schweinitz. If We Could Change the World. 400 pp., 6.125 x 9.25, 25 illus.
If we could see what happens when we pray, we would never cease to pray. Watch full message here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpifCGTZXVo.
Jan 30, 2020 ... I asked my ex if we could work things out, he said he didn't have an answer. Is that basically a “no”? All related (49). Recommended.

Alternatives:

if we were able to
if we had the ability to

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if we can vs if we could

"if we can"

"if we could"

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