🚫 Not able 😲 Strong refusal 🙅 Inability

cannot

17 1.0

To not be able to do something

auxiliary
/ˈkænɒt/

: no poder

You cannot enter the building without a security badge.

Examples

You cannot finish your project without proper guidance.
She cannot swim, so she stayed on the shore during the trip.
I cannot believe how quickly the year has passed.
I cannot swim.
She cannot believe it!
He cannot lift the heavy box on his own.
They cannot attend the meeting because of a scheduling conflict.

Antonyms

can

∞ 1.0

To be able to do something or for something to be possible

Surface Forms

cannot infinitive

can not infinitive

cannot third person singular

could not past

Morphology

cannot = can + not (transparent) = can + not

Formed directly from the auxiliary 'can' plus the negative particle 'not'; learners who know 'can' and 'not' can readily derive the negative meaning.

Etymology

Cannot is simply can + not, where can means 'be able' and not means 'not' or 'no'. So cannot means 'not able to do something'.