会 (huì), 能 (néng), and 可以 (kěyǐ) －－ Part. 1

We talked about 会 (huì), 能 (néng), and 可以 (kěyǐ) in the previous blogs. Do you know the difference among them and how to use them correctly?  会 means "know how to", 能 means "to be able to", and 可以 means "to have permission to."  They overlap somehow, but there are many nuances:

The regions marked by letters are explained in the sections below:

• A: ability in the sense of “know how to” (会 (huì) is more common than 能 (néng))
• B: permission/request (use 能 (néng) or 可以 (kěyǐ))
• C: possibility (use 能 (néng) or 可以 (kěyǐ))
• D: permission not granted (use 不可以 (bù kěyǐ))
• E: impossibility (use 不能 (bù néng))

Both会 and 能 can be used to express ability in something: 会/能 + Verb

• 他能／会说汉语和日语。He can speak Chinese and Japanese. 
• 三个月大的孩子不能／会走路。Three-month-old children can not walk. 

Both 可以 and 能 is used to ask for or give permission: 可以/能 + Verb

• 你可以/能帮我一下吗？Can you do me a favor? 
• 我可以/能进来吗？May I come in? 
• 可以，请进！Yes, please come in. (When a question is asked using 能/可以 it can be answered with 不能/不可以, meaning no, and only 可以 meaning yes. Chinese don't really answer with just 能。) 

Both 能 and 可以 can also be used to express possibility：可以/能 + Verb

• 下个星期有春节联欢晚会，你可以/能来看吗？Next week, we will have the Chinese New Year celebration. Can you come? 

Only 会 can be used to mean something is going to happen. It express something in the future will happen and is often used to express trends or possibilities:会 + Verb

• 明天布法罗会下雪吗？Will it snow in Buffalo tomorrow? 
• 今天晚上他会去图书馆学习。He will go to the library to study tonight.

Please filling the blanks by using 会 (huì), 能 (néng), or 可以 (kěyǐ)

1) 绿灯了，我们__________走了。

2) 我学游泳学了两个多礼拜，我现在__________游了。

3) 我爸爸同意了，我暑假__________去中国了。

4) 这个老爷爷听不懂英文，你__________和他说中文吗？

5) 他病好了，__________工作了。

6) 他__________说一些中文，因为他去过中国好几次。

7) 你__________帮我写一下吗？

8）下雪了，今天晚上你还__________来上课吗？

Reference:
http://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Comparing_%22hui%22_%22neng%22_%22keyi%22