hello welcome to use English at home YouTube channel today I'm gonna teach
you how to talk about ability using can could and be able to can could and be
able to we use these auxiliaries to talk about abilities but there is a slight
difference in each one let's have a look at them and learn we use can to talk
about present abilities for example I can swim I can sing I can run fast what
can you do we use could to talk about abilities in the past so think about
past times okay I could swim when I was four
what about you what could you do when you were four be able to is the next one
we use be able to to talk about present past perfect and future abilities so it
has many different functions right here we go if you are talking about a present
ability then the auxilary be changes form depending on the subject if you say
I then it is M if you say he it is is they are all talking about present
ability don't forget so I am able to swim if you are talking about that past
ability a past ability the auxilary changes form and it becomes either was
or ver so I was able to swim I was able to swim next one if you are talking
about a future ability future this time then we use will I will be able to swim
I will be able to swim and the perfect one let's see how it works I have been
to swim since I was 4 so this one is used when you are talking about an
ability that started in the past and it is still continuing even up to now you
are able to do this so let's see I've been able to swim I started swimming
when I was 4 and since then I can't swim so we say I've been able to swim so many
people get confused about the difference let's have a look at these examples and
talk about the details what the difference are ok so when we say she can
speak four different languages we talk about a general ability right
she can speak four different languages good she is able to speak four different
languages is also correct but this is used usually in more formal situations
formal if it's a general ability in everyday life we say can this is good if
you are in a formal situation right so that's the only difference actually
about them next one she could pass the exam she was able to pass the exam
so here the verb is pass pass an exam this is not about ability right you try
hard do you work for it you study for an exam so here we need to say was able to
instead of good because here we are referring to a past success something
you managed to do right here the meaning is just the same as the word managed she
was able to pass the exam she managed managed to pass the exam
right so we don't use code to talk about that past success if it's a past success
then you go for or ver able to the last one when you
talk about a negative activity in the past you can say couldn't or wasn't
weren't able to in this case there is no difference you can say she couldn't pass
the exam right so this was a failure in the past right she wasn't able to
pass the exam the meaning is exactly the same so that
was it about the difference are you ready to practice now read the problems
and right through sentences about yourself I'll do the same let's get to
work so think of something you can do now I can bake a cake what about you I
can bake a cake think of something you could do as a
child I could run fast I could run fast what about you
next one something you would like to be able to do well I'd like to be able to
play the guitar I I can write it like this would write I'd like to be able to
play the guitar what about you guys write two sentences don't forget next
one something you have never been able to do well I've been I've never been
able to do well in maths what about you I've never been able to do well in maths
next one something you will be able to do soon well I'll be able to speak
German soon I'll be able to speak German last one
something you haven't been able to do recently well I haven't been able to
sleep well recently what about you I
haven't been able to swim nor sleep sorry sleep well
good are you ready for more practice look at the pictures and complete the
sentences with me let's start I'm afraid he won't be able to go away he won't be
able to go away this weekend next I haven't been able to speak to Harry I
haven't been able to speak to Harry next my grandmother loved music she could
play the piano well yes she could it's a past ability next I had forgotten to
take my camera so I couldn't take any pictures right I couldn't take any
photos next they ran their first marathon should be tired right it was
very hard but they very able to finish they were able to finish the marathon
they did a very good job obviously next my grandfather travelled a lot he could
speak five languages amazing right he could
speak five languages let's have a look at today's key words and phrases we have
learned that we can use can could and be able to to talk about abilities ken is
used for present ability as in the example of I can speak two languages
could is four abilities in the past I could speak two languages when I was
younger be able to is four present past perfect and future abilities for example
I'm able to speak German I was able to pass the exam I will be able to speak
German soon I've been able to speak German since I was four we also learned
that was and were able to refer to a specific success in the past they have
the meaning of managed to do something for example I was able to get to school
on time which means I managed to get to school on time thank you for watching
you can find the practice files for this lesson on the link in description and
don't forget to subscribe to my channel bye