the verb “can” is so fuckin weird
for starters, most verbs have a “to” like “to love”, “ to want”, “to fight”, but you can’t say “to can”. in fact, you’d say “to be able to”.
which brings me to the fact that “can” is basically a random substitute for “to be able to” depending on the indicated time ???
like for example:
Past: I wanted Present: I want Future: I will want
Past: I was able to (or I could, it depends) Present: I can Future: I will be able to
like you can say “I can go to the store” but you can’t say “I will can go to the store” you have to say “I will be able to go to the store”.
and like technically I guess we could replace the present “can” with “to be able to” and it would work but just sound hella awk like “I’m able to go to the store”
PLUS it doesn’t get conjugated AT ALL
ex:
I want, he wants I fight, she fights BUT I can, he can You can, she can
IT NEVER GETS AN “ S” it’s never “he cans” or “she cans”
like I’m sure there’re very logical yet bizarre and fascinating linguistic reasons for all this but just like whatthefUCK “can” ????!??!??
