CAN /COULD /BE ABLE TO

ABILITY in the present / past

Ability in the present
 To talk about ability in the present, we use
‘can/can’t’
Ben can swim very well.
My sister can’t speak any other languages.
Ability in the past
 To talk about general ability in positive
sentences, we use ‘could / was/were able to.
She could/was able to speak 3 languages when she
was 10.
 To talk about general ability in the past in
negative sentences, we use ‘couldn’t /
wasn’t/weren’t able to
My brother couldn’t play the piano.
Ability in the past
 For negative ability in a specific occasion,
we can use ‘couldn’t’ and wasn’t/weren’t
able to’

He couldn’t/ was’t able to unlock the door that

evening.
She wasn’t able to / couldn’t think up a suitable
excuse for being late.
A man fell into the river yesterday. The police
couldn’t / wasn’t able to save him.
The burglar couldn’t / wasn’t able to get in through
the window.
Ability in the past
 For positive ability on a specific occasion in
the past, we use ‘was/were able to’ not
could
We were able to get a last minute on holiday to
Egypt.
A man fell into the river yesterday. The police were
able to save him.
The burglar was able to get in through the
bathroom window.
I was able to get some really good bargains in the
sale.
After climbing for several hours, we were able to
get to the top of the mountain.