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Understanding Ability: Can, Could, Be Able

The document discusses different ways to show ability in English using modal verbs like can, could, be able to and will be able to. It explains how to show present, past and future ability and distinguishes between using could and was/were able to to show general versus specific ability.

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Abdul Halim Adib Karimi
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12 views7 pages

Understanding Ability: Can, Could, Be Able

The document discusses different ways to show ability in English using modal verbs like can, could, be able to and will be able to. It explains how to show present, past and future ability and distinguishes between using could and was/were able to to show general versus specific ability.

Uploaded by

Abdul Halim Adib Karimi
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Ability

By: Ahmad Sameer “Ahmadi”


Ability
 To show ability use can, could & be able to.

o Present ability:
1. Can + base verb
2. Be (is, am are) able to + base verb

e.g. She can dance better than you. “ability”


e.g. She is able to speak English very well. “ability” uncommon
Ability
oPast ability:
1. Could + base verb
2. Be (was/were) able to + base verb
e.g. I could not run fast when I was a child.
“past ability”
e.g. I am sorry that I wasn’t able to phone you
yesterday. “past ability”
Ability
oFuture ability:

1. Will + be able to + base verb

e.g. She will be able to manage the problem.


“future ability”
e.g. Will you be able to help them tomorrow?
“future ability”
Was/Were able to versus Could
 Could shows general ability in the
past
 Was/Were able to shows specific
ability at a specific time, or in other
words, it means to manage.
Examples
e.g. I could drive when I was a child.
e.g. I was able to escape from police. (Not could)
e.g. He was able to rescue the child. (Not could)
e.g. We were able to answer the questions. (Not Could)
e.g. When he attacked, I was able to defend
myself. (Not Could)
?

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