Talking about Abilities
What Is Ability?
Abilities refer to things we are able to do as a result of a skill, talent, or power. There are different ways to discuss abilities in English.
Talking about Abilities in English
There are different ways to express your abilities, such as:
Using 'Can'
'Can' is a modal verb that is most commonly used to talk about abilities in the present and future. We use the base form of the verb after modals and 'can' follows the same rule. Look at the examples.
She can drive a car.
He can swim really fast.
They can cook in big restaurants if they win this game.
Peter can easily cheat on tomorrow's exam.
Using 'Could'
'Could' is the past tense of 'can'. It is a modal verb as well, which means it has the same form for all subjects. We use 'could' to talk about abilities that we had in the past. We might have lost the ability or just not use it anymore.
I could stand on my hands when I was young.
They could drink five bottles of wine without actually feeling anything.
'Could have' is used to indicate someone had the ability to do something, but did not do it. The structure is 'could have' + past participle. Check out the examples:
I believe she could have won the fight.
Hanna could have sung way better.
Using 'Be Able to'
This phrase is used to talk about abilities and the verb 'be' can be conjugated to make it suitable for use in the present, past, and future. Look at the examples below:
She is able to perform in front of thousands of people.
Before the accident, Lidia was able to play guitar.
A year from now, I will be able to speak French fluently.
Harry will be able to walk again.
Using 'Be Unable to'
'To be unable to do something' means that we cannot do it. In other words, despite having an affirmative structure, this expression has a negative sense.
She was unable to talk after the earthquake.
The rabbit is unable to jump.
Negation
Here are the negative forms for all the modals and expressions covered in this lesson.
Cannot → can't
Could not → couldn't
Could not have → couldn't have
Was/were/am/is/are not able to → isn't/aren't able to
Will not be able to → won't be able to
Review
To talk about the abilities we have, we can use the modals can and could. On the other hand, we can also use the verb phrase to be able to. Here are the functions of these verbs and the times they can express:
present | past | future | |
|---|---|---|---|
Be able to | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Can | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
Could | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
Quiz:
Which sentence correctly uses "could" to express a past ability?
She could drive to the store tomorrow.
He could be able to sing next year.
I could solve complex math problems when I was in school.
I could not speak English right now.
Sort the words to make a correct sentence.
Which sentence uses "be able to" correctly to express a future ability?
She is able to play the piano when she was five.
He could be able to lift that box tomorrow.
They will be able to travel abroad next year.
I am be able to finish it yesterday.
Match each incomplete sentence with the correct ending.
Complete each sentence with the correct modal/phrase.
When I was younger, I
run faster than anyone in my class.
He
to play the guitar before the accident, but now he can't.
She
speak four languages fluently.
I don't know if I
to finish this project by tomorrow.
Unfortunately, they
to come to the meeting because they are out of town.
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