Modals ( was able to / could)
Hello there,
I hope you are all doing good and I have a little problem with the 2 following examples as I can’t understand why we can’t use could instead of was able to :
He was able to repaire his, but it took him a long time.
She was able to make them change their minds. She can be really persuasive when she wants to.
I’d be very thankful for your help.
Top answer
tsundere I can’t understand why we can’t use could instead of was able to 'could' cannot be used to express a past success, so it can't be used as a paraphrase for 'succeeded in' or 'managed to'. If the context implies success, use 'was able to', not 'could'. The following are equivalent, and they all imply that he did repair it: He succeeded in repairing it.
- tsundere I can’t understand why we can’t use could instead of was able to 'could' cannot be used to express a past success, so it can't be used as a paraphrase for 'succeeded in' or 'managed to'.
- If the context implies success, use 'was able to', not 'could'.
- The following are equivalent, and they all imply that he did repair it: He succeeded in repairing it.
- He managed to repair it.
- He was able to repair it.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
tsundereI can’t understand why we can’t use could instead of was able to
'could' cannot be used to express a past success, so it can't be used as a paraphrase for 'succeeded in' or 'managed to'.
If the context implies success, use 'was able to', not 'could'.
The following are equivalent, and they all imply that he did repair it:
He
0
Related Questions