can Can you speak German? She can’t play the violin Can you help me with this translation? be able to Are you able to solve Chemistry problems? (Good for you!) ! Can is more common than ‘be able to’ Could (a general past ability in the past) I could talk when I was 13 months old We can also use was/were able to with this meaning I was able to talk when I was 13 months old ! When we want to say that somebody did something on a particular occasion, we use only was/were able to (not could) Although it was freezing cold, he was able to swim back to the shore ! In this meaning, we can also use managed to/succeeded in (…ing) They are preferable when it was something difficult to ! Exception - we can use could with verbs of perception (see, hear, smell, taste, feel) and thinking (undrstand, remember, etc) to talk about particular situations I could hear a strange noise under my bed yesterday night - we use could not (couldn’t) for both general ability and particular situations He couldn’t dance.He tried hard, but couldn’t Modal verbs Ability 4) could have (+ past participle) We can use this construction to say that someone had the ability/opportunity to something in the past, but did not it You could have come to my party, why didn’t you? 5) with infinitives, -ing forms or participles, we Can only use be able to (not can) She wants to be able to that, but she simply can’t it I will soon be able to play the piano better than you My grandson enjoys being able to these small things Use can, could or be able to: My uncle _ speak four foreign languages It was extremely cold yesterday, but we _ to skate for hours People enter this area without a special permit You to ski next month, there will be plenty of snow then You be a progressive person if you hold such views My cousin boasted that he _ to count for a very long time to please her, knowing she is