student asking question

What does "can" mean?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

"Can" as a verb is used to mean to "be able/permitted to" do something, or to make a request to someone. Ex: Can you open the jar for me? However, in this context, we can understand "can" to mean something similar to "may" or "might," to express the possibility of something. Thus, in this video, "can kind of seem counter-intuitive" means something similar to "may/might seem counter-intuitive." This expression has been used to state that the idea that *productivity may be better when we concentrate on one thing at a time instead of multi-tasking* may seem contrary to common-sense, but it is actually true. Ex: Mary can be a bit mean but she has a good heart. (Mary may be a bit mean but she has a good heart.) Ex: Vegetables can look unappetizing but they're quite delicious. (Vegetables might look unappetizing but they're quite delicious.)

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