"Τα παιδιά μπορούν να τρώνε αλάτι."

Translation: The children can eat salt.

[spdl79]

Would 'could eat' be incorrect here? I use 'can' and 'could' interchangeably in English, although now thinking about it, is there a bit of an implied future in 'could'?

[Dimitra956826]

"Ι could" translates to "μπορούσα", past form of "μπορώ". (Or "θα μπορούσα", for polite requests).

Μπορούσα να πάω, αλλά δεν πήγα - I could go, but I didn't. (unlike the english, we don't say "I could go, but I won't" in greek. They might be interchangeable, but you almost never encounter it in spoken Greek. Not is such cases.)

Whereas

Μπορώ να πάω, αλλά δεν θα πάω - I can go, but I won't.

Also in politeness cases (where could and can are interchangeable):

Θα μπορούσες/Μπορείς να μου φέρεις ένα ποτήρι νερό; - Could/Can you bring me a glass of water?

I hope I helped ^.^

[spdl79]

You certainly did, as always. Thanks so much for the explanation.

[Dimitra956826]

You're welcome ^.^

[Goren17]

Does it mean they can add salt to their food or that they only get salt to eat? Because the latter is rather cruel

[Dimitra956826]

Don't worry, I do believe it's definitely not the latter. You usually here phrases like "μπορώ να τρώω αλάτι" (meaning, I can add more salt to my food or eat food that's already salty) in discussions about diets and healthy eating habits. ^.^

[timo_kalviainen]

why was "The children may eat salt" marked wrong?

[Mary150457]

Not sure if it already exists as an alternative, but "μπορώ" means both "can" and "am allowed to"