couldn't en · VERB
Pronunciation
- [ˈkʊ̃ʔ] African-American Vernacular
- [ˈkʊɾ.n̩ʔ] (General-American)
- [ˈkʊnʔ] (Yorkshire)
- /ˈkʊd.n̩t/
- (US) audio
Etymology
From could + n’t.
Meanings
-
Could not (negative auxiliary).
‘Would you like another drink?’ ‘No thanks, I couldn’t.’
You couldn’t lend me a lighter, could you?
Coordinates
mayn't · oughtn't · won't · mightn't · wouldn't · can't · shan't · shouldn't