برای صحبت درباره ی توانایی هایی که در گذشته داشته اید می توانید از could ،was able to و managed to استفاده کنید، اما به چه صورت؟ به مثال های زیر توجه کنید تا چگونگی استفاده از این افعال را بیاموزید.
| Past ability |
| could, was able to and managed to |
I could play the guitar when I was seven years old. |
The police weren't able to catch the speeding car. |
The bird managed to escape from its cage and fly away. |
General ability توانایی ها عمومی و رایج
می توانیم از could یا couldn't برای صحبت درباره ی توانایی هایی که در گذشته داشته ایم، صحبت کنیم
| Past ability |
| General ability |
We usually use could or couldn't to talk about general abilities in the past. |
She could paint before she started school. |
I couldn't cook until I went to university. |
When I lived next to the pool, I could go swimming every day |
Ability on one occasion – successful توانایی در موقعیتی خاص که منجر به موفقیت شده است
زمانی که می خواهیم از موفقیتی در موقعیتی در گذشته صحبت کنیم از was/were able to (= had the ability to) و managed to (= succeeded in doing something difficult) به کاربرده می شود.
| Past ability |
| Ability on one occasion – successful |
The burglar was able to get in through the bathroom window. |
The burglar managed to get in through the bathroom window even though it was locked. |
استفاده از could برای صحبت درباره ی موفقیتی در موقعیت خاص به طور معمول اشتباه است.
Ability on one occasion – unsuccessful توانایی در موقعیتی خاص که موففقیت حاصل نشده است
زمانی که از اتفاقی در گذشته صحبت میکنیم که فردی موفق به انجام کاری نشده است از wasn't/weren't able to و didn't manage to یا couldn'tاستفاده می شود.
| Past ability |
| Ability on one occasion – unsuccessful |
The speaker wasn't able to attend the conference due to illness. |
She couldn't watch the match because she was working. |
They worked on it for months but they didn't manage to find a solution. |
این نکته را به خاطر بسپارید که wasn't/weren't able to در مقایسه با couldn't رسمی تر است و manage to بر این موضوع تاکید می کند که انجام کاری دشوار بوده است.