4A

can, could, be able to (ability and possibility) Could you open the door
for me, please?
c a n / c o u ld

I can sp e a k th ree la ngu ag es flu e ntly. 2 34)))

Jenny can’t co m e to n ig h t. S he 's sick.
M y c o u s in could p lay the v io lin w h e n she w as th ree.
T h e y couldn’t w a it because th ey w ere in a h u rry .
Could yo u o p e n the d o o r f o r m e, please?

• can is a m o da l verb. It o n ly ha s a presen t fo rm (w h ic h can be used w ith

fu tu re m e an ing ) a nd a past o r c o n d itio n a l fo rm (could).
• F o r a ll o th e r ten ses and fo rm s, w e use be able to + base fo rm .

b e a b le t o + b a s e fo r m
1 L u k e has been able to s w im sin ce he w as th ree.
I'd lik e to be able to ski.
I love being able to stay in be d late o n S u nd ay m o rn in g .
Y o u ’l l be able to p ra ctice y o u r E n g lis h i n the U S .
2 F o rtu n a te ly , I am a b le to accep t y o u r in v ita tio n .
M y co lle a g u e s weren’t able to co m e to yesterday's m ee tin g .
1 W e use be able to + base fo rm fo r a b ilit y and
2 35)))
p o s s ib ility , e s p e c ia lly w here there is n o fo rm o f
can, e.g., fu tu re , pre sen t p e rfect, in fin it iv e and
g erun d, etc.
2 W e so m e tim e s use be able to in the presen t and
past (instead o f can / could), u s u a lly i f w e w a n t to
be m o re fo rm a l.

a C o m p le t e w i t h th e c o r r e c t f o r m o f be able to ( 0 , E L b ( C ir c le ) th e c o r r e c t f o r m . C h e c k / i f b o t h a re p o s s ib le .
or[?]).

I ’ve n e v e r been able to s c u b a d ive .

1 H e r c e ll p h o n e h a s b e e n tu r n e d o f f a l l m o r n in g , so I
t a lk to h e r vet.
2 I d o n 't lik e n o is y re s ta u ra n ts . I l i k e _________________
h ave a c o n v e r s a tio n w it h o u t s h o u tin g .
3 I _________________le ave h o m e w h e n I get a job.
4 W e 'r e h a v in g a p a r ty n e x t S a tu r d a y ._________________ can /(be a b le lcjid an ce salsa.
I ’ve a lw a y s w a n te d to
y o u _________________c o m e ?
1 M y lit t le b o y couldn't / wasn’t able to s p e a k u n t il he w a s
5 Y o u n e e d ________________ s w im b e fo re y o u c a n go in a a lm o s t t w o y e a rs o ld .
can o e.
can /
2 S h e ’s m u c h b e tte r a f te r h e r o p e ra t io n . S h e ’ l l
6 I'm g o in g to F r a n c e n e x t w ee k, b u t I d o n 't s p e a k be able to w a lk a g a in in a fe w m o n th s .
F re n c h . I h a t e _________________c o m m u n ic a t e w it h
3 H e h a s n 't could / been able to f i x m y b ik e yet. H e ’ l l d o it
p e o p le .
to m o rro w .
7 F o r t u n a te ly , f ir e f ig h t e r s _________________re sc u e a ll o f
4 It’s th e w e e k e n d a t last! I lo v e can / being able to g o o u t
th e p e o p le tra p p e d in s id e th e b u r n in g h o u s e .
w it h m y frie n d s .
8 I’m v e ry s o rr y , b u t w e _________________g o to y o u r
5 W h e n w e liv e d o n th e c o as t, w e u se d to can / be able to
w e d d in g n e x t m o n th . W e 'l l be o n v a c a tio n .
g o to th e b e a ch e v e ry day.
9 I'm fe e lin g a lit t le w o r s e ._________________y o u
6 I c a n ’t / ’m not able to se n d a n y e m a ils r ig h t n o w .
_________________c o n ta c t th e d o c to r yet?
M y c o m p u te r is n ’t w o rk in g .
10 T h e m a n a g e r ________________ see y o u rig h t n o w
7 I could I was able to re a d b e fo re I s ta rte d s c h o o l.
b e ca u se he 's in a m e e tin g .
8 W e w o n ’t can / be able to g o o n v a c a tio n t h is y e a r
b e c a u s e w e n ee d to sp e n d a lo t o f m o n e y o n th e h o u s e .
9 L in d a hasn't been able to / couldiih f in d a job.
10 A le x can / is able to s p e a k K o r e a n flu e n t ly a f te r liv in g
in S e o u l f o r te n y e ars.

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