“can” in Latin

cantharus; hirnea: a small can, hirnula.

n., posse: I can, possum: licet mihi (of permission): I can not put to sea on account of the weather, per tempestatem mihi navigare non licet: I can do it, copia, or potestas mihi est alicujus rei faciendae, or merely alicujus rei: he could have lived more freely, liberius vivendi fuit alicui potestas: I can not at present adopt your advice, non est integrum consilio jam uti tuo: he explained the thing so clearly, that all could understand it, rem tam perspicue explicuit, ut omnes intelligerent: who can doubt? quis dubitet? one can easily understand, facile intelligitur: Themistocles could not be at rest, non licuit esse otioso Themistocli: I can not, non possum; non queo; nequeo. Sometimes “can” is expressed by esse, with the gerund in “do”: he can pay, est solvendo: he can bear the load, est oneri ferendo.

I can not (= I can not fairly) often by nihil or non habeo, quod; non habeo, cur, etc.: I can not find any fault with old age, nihil habeo, quod incusem senectutem: I can not agree with you, non habeo, quod tibi in ea re assentiar.

I speak as loud as I can, quam possum maxima voce dico: this man can not go wrong, non est in hoc homine peccandi locus: as well as I can, pro meis viribus; pro facultate; quantum in me or in mea potestate situm or positum est; ut potero. Do what you can to get it done, operam, ut fiat, da: to be more than one can do, vires excedere.

Can is sometimes rendered by scio: I can paint, pingere scio: so CAN NOT by nescio.

CAN NOT BUT, facere non possum, quin (with subjunctive): non possum non (with infinitive). The soul can not but be immortal, tieri non potest ut animus sit mortalis: [posse and quire were originally transitive; posse denotes being able, as a consequence of power and strength, = δύναμαι: quire, as the consequence of complete qualification, = αἷός τέ εἰμι: hence in the best writers only in negative sentences, or sentences that have a negative character, as many hypothetical sentences have; whereas valere and pollere are intransitive: hence we say, possum or queo vincere, but valeo or polleo ad vincendum.]