Expressing Ability and Possibility
Possibility in the present or in the future:
They can organize another demonstration
→ It is possible that they organize another demonstration.
Possibility in the past:
The two enemy countries could prevent the armed conflict but they did not.
→It was possible for the two enemy countries to prevent the war .(there was an opportunity for)
Possibility is when there is/ was a chance that something can/ could happen or be true. It does not mean that it actually happens/ or happened.
After the modals can / could the verb is not conjugated :
Subject + can / cannot + stem |
Subject + could / could not + stem |
Impossibility in the present or in the future:
I cannot agree with you on that point
→ It is impossible for me to agree with you on that point.
- In speech we can use the abbreviation can’t instead of cannot and couldn’t instead of could not.
- The modals can and could have other uses.
We also use 'can' to talk about:
''ability''
I can speak French.
ask or give permission:
Can I speak to you or are you too busy?
You can use my phone.
requests and instructions
Can I help?
We can use 'can't' for deduction.
You can't be hungry. You've just eaten.
We also use ‘could' to talk about:
Polite formal requests.
Could I bother you for a moment?
We are in summer, but it could rain later. (future possibility but it is improbable)
suggestion:
You could go there by train, it’s more practical.
Tenses |
Expressing Ability |
Expressing Inability |
present simple |
Subject + am / is/ are able to + stem Example: The UN Security Council is able to make decisions
|
Subject + am / is / are not able to + stem Subject + am / is / areunable to + stem Example: The UN General Assembly is not able to make decision, it only makes recommendations. |
Future |
Subject + will be able to + stem Example: The citizens will be able to change the law if they continue demonstrating in the streets. |
Subject + will not be able to + stem Subject + willbeunable to + stem Example: Ban Ki Mon will not be able to make anything if the two sides of the conflict refuse to negotiate.
|
Past |
Subject + was/ were able to + stem Example: Martin Luther King was able to gather thousands of Americans in the 1963 march.
|
Subject + was/ were not able to + stem Subject + was/ were unable to + stem Example: The UN was not able to settle the Syrian conflict.
|
present perfect |
Subject + have/ has been able to + stem Example: The UNHCR has been able to help many refugees in Africa. |
Subject + have/ has not been able to + stem Subject + have/ has beenunable to + stem Example: People have not been able to reduce war damage in the world.
|
when the action is in the past and time is not mentioned we do not use the past simple (stem + ed) we use instead the present perfect (have/ has+ past participle)
“could” does not express past ability, so “could” cannot replace “was/were able to”.
- "be able to" expresses ability
- am / is / are able to can be replaced by “can” to express ability in the present
- am / is / are not able to can be replaced by “cannot/ can’t” to express inability in the present
- To express past ability “was/ were able to” can be replaced by “managed to” and “succeeded in” especially when something was difficult to do
- To express past inability “was/ were not able to” can be replaced by “could not/ couldn’t”
- إختبارات
- 10
- الأجوبة الصحيحة
- False
- الأجوبة الخاطئة
- False
- مجموع النقاط
- False
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