@oristarA,
Quote:As for the case here, surely "Do you make out the first line of the title page?" is okay.
No, 'do' isn't possible here, Ori because present tense form 'do' holds the meaning of a general condition as in,
"I work/live in London."
Quote:I'm not sure whether "Can you make out the first line of the title page?" is natural or not.
That is perfectly natural. Notice that there's no semantic connection to the general condition. It's a one time thing and 'make out' [in its less fun meaning
] holds the meaning of trying to discern something that isn't clear, possibly it's smudged or in this case old style lettering.
I remember first reading Robert Lowth, one of the old time prescriptivists. It was a little tough at first because though all the letters were clear in a sight sense, that is, I could
make them out, I didn't recognize what letters they were, ie. as follows the definition below from M-W,
3a : to perceive to be something or someone previously known <recognized the word>
I didn't initially perceive them as Ss or Fs because there had been no previous knowledge, hence recognition could not/did not take place.
Very recently, in an A2K post Dlowan used a word, which I now forget, that I didn't recognize [puzzling use of 'which' and then 'that' as close quarter relative pronouns ?????]. I was able to make it out, ie. it was crystal clear to see but I had had no previous knowledge of the word.
But the usage of the word recognize is still a puzzle for me.
If it means "to perceive to be something or someone previously known,"
"Do you recognize the first line of the title page?" seems all right because I am certain that you've previously known the word manifesto.[/quote]
Yes, I agree, because of the use of 'do', a present tense form meaning "is it part of the general knowledge you now possess".
"Do you recognize/know
all the
words in the first line of the title page?"
Quote:As for "Can you recognize..." is more ambiguous to me.
Yes, I agree, but not with as much conviction as I previously felt. Perhaps I should sleep on it.
I believe that this would be a strong possibility in a situation, say, where someone who had suffered a concussion/brain damage was being asked about people they knew, family and friends.
Doctor: Can [= Is it possible for you to/Do you now have the ability to] recognize any faces of the people here?
Patient: [to hammer home 'make out'] I can't make out the faces at the end of the bed. Please hand me my glasses. [gets glasses, looks around] Yes, I recognize everyone.
[tumultuous clapping, crying and laughter]
Selected Answer
... the problem is the use of 'can' rather than 'do'. 
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