Be Able To
Be Able To
Be Able To
Although we look at be able to here, it is not a modal verb. It is simply the verb be plus
an adjective (able) followed by the infinitive. We look at be able to here because we
sometimes use it instead of can and could.
We use be able to:
Structure of Be able to
The structure of be able to is:
subject + be + able + infinitive
subject
be
main verb
able
adjective
infinitive
am
able
to drive.
She
able
to drive.
Are
able
to drive?
is not
isn't
you
Use of Be able to
Be able to is not a modal auxiliary verb. We include it here for convenience, because it
is often used like "can" and "could", which are modal auxiliary verbs.
You will be able to speak perfect English very soon. (future simple)
Could
Could is an auxiliary verb, a modal auxiliary verb. We use could to:
make requests
Structure of Could
auxiliary verb
main verb
My grandmother
could
swim.
She
could not
walk.
couldn't
?
Notice that:
Could
your grandmother
swim?
Use of Could
could: Past Possibility or Ability
We use could to talk about what was possible in the past, what we were able or free to
do:
When we arrived home, we could not open the door. (...couldn't open the door.)
We use could (positive) and couldn't (negative) for general ability in the past. But when
we talk about one special occasion in the past, we use be able to (positive) and couldn't
(negative). Look at these examples:
Past
General
Specific Occasion
My grandmother couldn't
speak Spanish.
could: Requests
We often use could in a question to ask somebody to do something. The use of could in
this way is fairly polite (formal):
We often use to be able to or to be allowed to instead of "can". We can only form the Past
of "can" (could). To put "can" into other tenses we need the phrases to be able to or to be
allowed to.
Affirmative sentences
Tense
Modal
Form
I am able to play football.
I'm able to play football.
Simple Present
Simple Past
will-future
Negations
Tense
Modal
Simple Present
Form
I am not able to play football.
I'm not able to play football.
I am not allowed to play football.
I'm not allowed to play football.
Simple Past
will-future
Questions
Tense
Modal
Form
Simple Present
Simple Past
will-future
Can
Is used to talk about possibility. e.g. Can you meet me at 5?
Is used to talk about ability. e.g. I can ride a bike.
Is used to make informal requests and orders. e.g. Can you bring me my jumper?
Has two negative forms,. cant and cannot.
Could
Is used to talk about past abilities. e.g. When I was a child I could do handstands.
Is used to make formal requests. e.g. Could you fax me that document by Tuesday?
In the negative form, is couldnt.
Be able to
Is sometimes used instead of can or could.
Can be used with all tenses. e.g. I will be able to see you next week.
Is used to talk about ability. e.g. Are you able to write formal letters?