Can/could I take a train here?

[Rachel Adams]

Do "can" and "could" express a possibility but not permission in these examples?

1. "Can I take a train here?" I mean is it possible?

2. "Could I take a train here?" Does "could" mean if it is likely that I can take a train here? Or do they mean the same?

 

[emsr2d2]

Do "can" and "could" express a possibility but not permission in these examples?

1. "Can I take a train here?" I mean "Is it possible?"
2. "Could I take a train here?"

Does "could" mean [STRIKE]if[/STRIKE] it is likely that I can take a train here no question mark here or do they mean the same?

They would both be taken to mean possibility. No one would think you were asking for permission to take train!

 

[Rachel Adams]

They would both be taken to mean possibility. No one would think you were asking for permission to take train!

When talking about learning a foreign language, if in these examples there is a slight difference between "can" and "could", it doesn't mean that there is a difference between them in other situations. Is that right? For example, "Can learning English be difficult?" Which means 'Do some people find it difficult?' And "Could learning English be difficult?" Means 'Is it likely that I or someone else would find it difficult?'
But with the train example is there any slight difference between them?

 

[5jj]

Let's go back to the beginning

Do "can" and "could" express a possibility but not permission in these examples?

1. "Can I take a train here?" I mean is it possible?

2. "Could I take a train here?" Does "could" mean if it is likely that I can take a train here? Or do they mean the same?

You have presented two sentences, presumably thought of by you, and then asked us what they mean. Neither sentence has any context, and, without context, neither seems very natural.

If you have heard/seen these in some context, give us the context.

If you did make them up yourself, the first sentence with the meaning 'Is it possible?' is an unlikely one. If you ask it at a railway station, You will get a surprised 'Yes' in response (or something less polite). If you ask it at a bus stop, you will get a surprised 'no' in response (or something less polite).

 

[Rachel Adams]

In "English Grammar in Context" by Michael Vince I read that "can" is correct when something is possible in a general sense: 2. "Learning a language can be difficult." 3. "You can take a train here. There's one every hour."

I changed the original sentences to ask my question.
I was wondering if "can" and "could" work in positive statements and questions about language learning, ("learning could/can be difficult) do they work in questions too in other situations? Or in some cases it's just illogical. As the train example. "Can/could I take a train here?"

 

[emsr2d2]

If you did make them up yourself, the first sentence with the meaning 'Is it possible?' is an unlikely one. If you ask it at a railway station, You will get a surprised 'Yes' in response (or something less polite). If you ask it at a bus stop, you will get a surprised 'no' in response (or something less polite).

That's a good point. I didn't consider the possibility of "Can I take a train here?" to mean "Can I catch a train from here?" I imagined someone perhaps pointing at a town on a map, and asking "Can I take a train here?" (meaning "to this place"), as an alternative to "Does this town have a railway station?"

This does indeed prove 5jj's point that we need context.

 

[Rachel Adams]

That's a good point. I didn't consider the possibility of "Can I take a train here?" to mean "Can I catch a train from here?" I imagined someone perhaps pointing at a town on a map, and asking "Can I take a train here?" (meaning "to this place"), as an alternative to "Does this town have a railway station?"

This does indeed prove 5jj's point that we need context.

Is "could" wrong in that context?

 

[Tdol]

Not to me.