What is the difference between can and won

No matter how much you offer I won't sell you my daughter. I'm sorry Bobby made that rude gesture. It can't happen again, because we've cut off his hands. Yesterday Cathy sold one customer another customer's umbrella. This can't happen again. Can't implies that someone else, or something else, is responsible for preventing it recurring. Sign up to join this community.

The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. What's the difference between can't and won't? Ask Question. Asked 7 years, 6 months ago.

Active 7 years, 6 months ago. I'm utterly convinced that a key element of personal and business success is the ability to differentiate correctly between "I can't" and "I won't. As a rule, when somebody "can't" do something, it's because he or she lacks the skill to do it; when somebody "won't" do something, it's because he or she lacks the will to do it.

Though that distinction seems pretty clear, the losers in this world often say "I can't" when they mean "I won't":. Losers substitute "I can't" for "I won't" because it lets them off the hook. Because the activity is something they "can't" do, they can't reasonably be expected to do it. Vocabulary Quiz. Take the Quiz ». Name That Thing. Take our visual quiz. Test Your Knowledge ». Learn More ». The Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary. Online access to a legendary resource Log In or Sign Up ».

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