Which is the correct version?
The boat sank, but they were able to swim to the shore.
The boat sank, but they could swim to the shore.
Top answer
anonymous The boat sank, but they were able to swim to the shore. The boat sank, but they could swim to the shore. You want the first one because it indicates a successful swim to the shore, but even there, 'they' seems to come out of nowhere, so at the very least I'd start with ' Their boat' if you aren't going to identify 'them': Their boat sank, but they were able to swim to the shore.
- anonymous The boat sank, but they were able to swim to the shore.
- The boat sank, but they could swim to the shore.
- You want the first one because it indicates a successful swim to the shore, but even there, 'they' seems to come out of nowhere, so at the very least I'd start with ' Their boat' if you aren't going to identify 'them': Their boat sank, but they were able to swim to the shore.
- The second sentence can give the impression that they had the ability to swim to the shore but hadn't decided yet whether they were actually going to do that.
- CJ
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anonymousThe boat sank, but they were able to swim to the shore.
The boat sank, but they could swim to the shore.
You want the first one because it indicates a successful swim to the shore, but even there, 'they' seems to come out of nowhere, so at the very least I'd start with 'Their boat' if you aren't going to identify 'them':
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