Is it correct to use "could" when confirming something?

Question

"I just want to confirm that I could be included in the committee although I am no longer affiliated with the university"

Is the sentence above correct or should I use "can" instead of "could"?

Answer 1

Could is the past tense of can.

Given the context of your sentence, I would then suggest that you use the word can. Like so:

"I just want to confirm that I can be included in the committee although I am no longer affiliated with the university".

As you're in the process of confirming or verifying something, the word can applies.

If you were describing how you had asked someone to confirm or verify something in the past, the the word could would apply.

I hope this helps :)

Answer 2

You can use "could" here, it indicates a hypothetical possibility: using "can" would indicate a more definte possibility.

You might use "could" where the speaker is thinking of putting himself forward for membership of the committee but has not yet done so, and use "can" when he has been asked to join the committee. The use of "can" would tend to indicate that he would like to accept the offer.