ID0002_M1AA2L5_SkillsAbilities

 
         Skills  and  Abilities  
 
Por: Darlene González Miy
 

There are some moments in life in which it is necessary to demonstrate what you can do, for example in a
job interview.

Skills and abilities are those special talents that a person can perform very well. Everybody has skills and
abilities for different things.

These are some examples of the skills and

abilities at work:
• Using a computer.
• Speaking a foreign language.
• Working in teams.

Figura 1. Office Workers Exchanging Documents. (Corbis, s.f.).

Some examples of skills and abilities at school are:

• Solving Math problems.
• Remembering dates.
• Memorizing definitions.

Figura 2. Students studying together. (Corbis, s.f.).

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sistema impreso, electrónico, magnético, incluyendo el fotocopiado, la fotografía, la grabación o un sistema de recuperación de la información, sin la autorización por escrito
de la Universidad Virtual del Estado de Guanajuato.
ID0002_M1AA2L5_SkillsAbilities

Some examples of social skills and abilities are:

• Listening to people.
• Making new friends.
• Getting people’s confidence.

Figura 3. Friends gathered in living room and using mobile phone.

(Corbis, s.f.).

Other examples of physical skills and abilities are:

• Swimming.
• Riding a horse.
• Playing golf.

Figura 4. Women Playing Golf. (Corbis, s.f.).

Some examples of artistic skills and abilities are:

• Painting
• Singing
• Dancing

Figura 5. Woman Painting. (Corbis, s.f.).

As you can see, one person can have a combination of skills and abilities from different groups.

©UVEG. Derechos reservados. Esta obra no puede ser reproducida, modificada, distribuida, ni transmitida, parcial o totalmente, mediante cualquier medio, método o 2
sistema impreso, electrónico, magnético, incluyendo el fotocopiado, la fotografía, la grabación o un sistema de recuperación de la información, sin la autorización por escrito
de la Universidad Virtual del Estado de Guanajuato.
ID0002_M1AA2L5_SkillsAbilities

There are two forms to express skills and abilities:

• Can
• Good at

You can use can or good at in the same way, but you have to pay attention to structure and verb
forms:

Can is followed by a verb in simple form:

I can use a computer.

Good at is followed by a verb with –ing form:

I am good at using a computer.

Read and analyze the following extract from a job interview:

Interviewer: So, Mr. Salazar, we are looking for a person that has managerial skills. Do
you have any experience in this area?

Mr. Salazar: Of course, I worked as a manager in my previous job. I am very good at

organizing information. Additionally, I can design processes to make
information flow clearer. And I’ also very good at making decisions.

Interviewer: I see. And how many languages do you speak?

Mr. Salazar: I am very good at English and I can speak some French too.
Interviewer: Very good. Are you familiar with technology?
Mr. Salazar: Yes. I can work with computers and machines and I’m good at typing too.
Interviewer: Very interesting, well Mr. Salazar, we’ll call you soon. Thanks for attending
the interview.

©UVEG. Derechos reservados. Esta obra no puede ser reproducida, modificada, distribuida, ni transmitida, parcial o totalmente, mediante cualquier medio, método o 3
sistema impreso, electrónico, magnético, incluyendo el fotocopiado, la fotografía, la grabación o un sistema de recuperación de la información, sin la autorización por escrito
de la Universidad Virtual del Estado de Guanajuato.
ID0002_M1AA2L5_SkillsAbilities

The negative form to express skills and abilities is:

I can’t speak a foreign language.

I’m not good at speaking a foreign language.

What are you good at?

Make a list of 5 things you are good at in different areas of

your life.

Referencias  de  imágenes    

Corbis. (s.f). Office Workers Exchanging Documents. Recuperada de

http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-photo/royalty-free/42-17348452/office-workers-
exchanging-documents?popup=1 (Imagen publicada bajo licencia Libre de
derechos de acuerdo a: http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-photo/royalty-free ).

Corbis. (s.f). Students studying together. Recuperada de

http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-photo/royalty-free/42-25042484/students-
studying-together?popup=1 (Imagen publicada bajo licencia Libre de derechos de
acuerdo a: http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-photo/royalty-free ).

Corbis. (s.f). Friends gathered in living room and using mobile phone. Recuperada
de http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-photo/royalty-free/42-46666866/friends-
gathered-in-living-room-and-using?popup=1 (Imagen publicada bajo licencia Libre
de derechos de acuerdo a: http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-photo/royalty-free ).

Corbis. (s.f). Women Playing Golf. Recuperada de

http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-photo/royalty-free/42-21858069/women-playing-
golf?popup=1 (Imagen publicada bajo licencia Libre de derechos de acuerdo a:
http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-photo/royalty-free ).

Corbis. (s.f). Woman Painting. Recuperada de http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-

photo/royalty-free/42-21854597/woman-painting?popup=1 (Imagen publicada bajo
licencia Libre de derechos de acuerdo a: http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-
photo/royalty-free ).

©UVEG. Derechos reservados. Esta obra no puede ser reproducida, modificada, distribuida, ni transmitida, parcial o totalmente, mediante cualquier medio, método o 4
sistema impreso, electrónico, magnético, incluyendo el fotocopiado, la fotografía, la grabación o un sistema de recuperación de la información, sin la autorización por escrito
de la Universidad Virtual del Estado de Guanajuato.