# Is it cannot or can not?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cannot-or-can-not/136663>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 14, 2002, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cannot-or-can-not/136663 "2002-11-14T02:04:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![johnjdopey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/aeb1de/32.png) [@johnjdopey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnjdopey)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2002, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cannot-or-can-not/136663/1 "2002-11-14T02:04:12Z")

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?

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**Author:** ![peepthis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9d8465/32.png) [@peepthis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peepthis)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2002, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cannot-or-can-not/136663/2 "2002-11-14T02:46:23Z")

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Either way is fine; they’re both acceptable (but certain style guides may have their preference.)

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**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2002, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cannot-or-can-not/136663/3 "2002-11-14T02:54:38Z")

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It depends on what you’re trying to say. if you “cannot” do something, it means you’re not capable of doing it; if you “can not” do something, it means you are able to refrain from doing it.

So, if you were allergic to alcohol, you might say “I cannot drink alcohol”. If you were volunteering to be a designated driver, you could say “I can not drink”.

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**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2002, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cannot-or-can-not/136663/4 "2002-11-14T03:15:47Z")

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\*Is it cannot or can not? \*

Yes.

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**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2002, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-cannot-or-can-not/136663/5 "2002-11-14T03:25:22Z")

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\*Is it cannot or can not? \*

Yes.