Peut is the third-person singular form of pouvoir in the present tense.
The subject is Cette copie, which is singular and equivalent to it / this copy, so French uses the third-person singular:
So Cette copie peut... means This copy can...
Because pouvoir is a modal verb, like can in English. It is followed by another verb in the infinitive.
Here:
So the structure is:
subject + pouvoir + infinitive
Examples:
This works very much like English can + base verb.
Because servir de and servir à mean different things.
So in this sentence, the copy is acting as proof, so French uses de:
Compare:
In the expression servir de + noun, French often omits the article when the noun describes a function, role, or category.
So:
This is similar to saying as proof rather than as a proof.
If you add an article, the meaning can become more specific or less natural in this structure, depending on context. In this sentence, de preuve is the most idiomatic form.
Not exactly, although translations often overlap.
Preuve usually means proof or evidence depending on context. It often suggests something that supports or establishes a fact.
In legal or formal contexts, English might use either proof or evidence, while French commonly uses preuve.
So in this sentence, preuve is perfectly natural, and English could translate it as either:
depending on context.
Copie usually means copy: a duplicate of a document, file, or text.
Depending on context, copie can also mean things like:
In Cette copie peut servir de preuve, it most likely means some kind of document copy or duplicate record that can be used as proof.
A careful pronunciation would be roughly:
set ko-pee puh servir duh preuv
A more French-like approximation is:
/sɛt kɔ.pi pø sɛʁ.viʁ də pʁœv/
A few useful points:
Not in the same way.
Cette copie directly modifies the noun copie and means this copy.
Ceci and cela are pronouns, not determiners. They replace a whole thing or idea rather than directly introducing a noun.
So you can say:
But not:
If you wanted a pronoun, you would need a different structure, such as:
Yes. The order is completely standard:
Cette copie + peut + servir de preuve
French word order here is very similar to English:
So this is a good model sentence to remember.