Klryz
Pronunciation guide: IPA symbols, stress and word endings

Vowels

iːseeɪsite / ɛbedæcat
ɑːfatherɒhot (UK)ɔːlawʊput
uːtooʌcupɜːbirdəabout
eɪdayaɪmyɔɪboyaʊnow
əʊ / oʊgo (UK / US)ɪəneareəhairʊətour

Consonants that look unusual

θthinðthisʃsheʒmeasure
tʃchurchdʒjudgeŋsingjyes

p b t d k g f v s z h m n l r w sound as in ordinary English spelling.

Marks

  • ˈ main stress, before the stressed syllable: /ˈwɔːtə/ water · ˌ lighter (secondary) stress: /ˌʌndəˈstænd/ understand
  • ː a long vowel · (r) an r said only in accents that pronounce it (most American, Scottish, Irish)

Common word endings

  • -s / -es (plurals; he/she form of verbs): /s/ after voiceless sounds (cats), /z/ after voiced (dogs), /ɪz/ after s, z, sh, ch, j sounds (buses, watches). Spelling: -es after s, x, z, ch, sh; consonant + y → -ies (city → cities).
  • -ed (past): /t/ after voiceless sounds (walked), /d/ after voiced (played), /ɪd/ after t or d (wanted). Spelling: love → loved, stop → stopped, carry → carried.
  • -ing: make → making, run → running, see → seeing.
  • Irregular: go, went, gone · be, was, been · see, saw, seen · man → men · child → children · mouse → mice.
  • Older (King James) forms: -eth = -s (he loveth = he loves) · -est with “thou” (thou lovest) · spake = spoke.

English Dictionary · 107,383 entries · Sources & licences

could

/kəd/ verb, noun

Also a form of can

Forms coulds coulde couldst couldest could'st coud cou'd

  1. verb Used as a past subjunctive (contrary to fact). “I'd have thought you could have done the dishes, at least.”
  2. verb Used to politely ask for permission to do something. “Could I borrow your coat?”
  3. verb Used to politely ask for someone else to do something. “Could you proofread this email?”
  4. verb Used to show the possibility that something might happen. “We could rearrange the time if you like.”
  5. verb Used to suggest something. “You could try adding more salt to the soup.”
  6. noun Something that could happen, or could be the case, under different circumstances; a potentiality.

Etymology

From Middle English coude, couthe, cuthe, from Old English cūþe, past indicative and past subjunctive form of cunnan (“to be able”) (compare related cūþ, whence English couth). Cognate with German konnte, Swedish kunde.
The -l- in the spelling was added in the early 16th century by analogy with should and would; this analogy formerly affected the pronunciation as well and was probably assisted by the tendency for /l/ to be lost in those words (and so not written, leading to shudd, wode, etc).

Webster’s 1913

  1. verb Was, should be, or would be, able, capable, or susceptible.

Etymology [OF. coude. The l was inserted by mistake, under the influence of should and would.]

Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “could”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details

Sanskrit

Sanskrit dictionary entries whose meaning includes “could” (best matches first).