Ability

1. Ability – present

To talk about ability in the present, we use can and to be able to/to be unable to.

‘Can Joe drive?’ ‘No, he can’t. He is too young.’

I cannot sing at all.

I am not able to answer this question. It’s too difficult.

Note: The negative of can is can’t and cannot.

can is used for general situations. to be able to/to be unable to is used for more specific situations and can be used in all the tenses.

to be able to is also used for all the tenses.

I will be able to speak English next year.

2. Ability – past

To talk about ability in the past, we can use could and was/were able to.

When I was young, I could run very fast.

I could always swim well, but that day I just wasn’t able to swim fast enough.

3. Other ways of expressing ability

We can use verbs to express ability: manage to + infinitive and succeed in + gerund/noun. These verbs can be used both in the present and the future. They can be used in all the tenses.

I have managed to phone the insurance company finally.

I’m sure Jack will succeed in learning French.