【B1-B2-Grammar】16 Past ability-过去的能力

【B1-B2-Grammar】16 Past ability-过去的能力

Do you know how to use could, was able to and managed to to talk about past abilities? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.你知道如何用could、was able to和managed to谈论过去的能力吗？通过互动练习测试您所掌握的知识，并阅读说明来帮助您。

Look at these examples to see how could, was able to and managed to are used.查看这些示例，了解如何使用“could”、“was possible to”和“managed to”。

I could play the guitar when I was seven years old. 我七岁时就会弹吉他。
The police weren’t able to catch the speeding car. 警察没能抓住那辆超速行驶的汽车。
The bird managed to escape from its cage and fly away. 那只鸟设法逃出了笼子，飞走了。

Try this exercise to test your grammar.尝试这个练习来测试你的语法。

Grammar test 1-语法测试1

Past ability: 1

Choose the correct option to complete the sentences.

• Question

1. I _____ open the door while carrying all the shopping.
   managed to
   could
2. The presentation wasn’t working at first but we _____ fix it.
   could
   were able to
3. How did you _____ write a book so soon after having a baby?
   manage to
   be able to
4. She _____ ski almost before she learned to walk.
   could
   managed to
5. He _____ attend the last meeting due to his daughter’s illness.
   weren’t able to
   couldn’t
6. _____ get your phone fixed? It looked very broken!
   Did you manage to
   Could you
7. I _____ drink milk as a child because it always made me feel sick.
   couldn’t
   didn’t manage to
8. The journey went fine yesterday and we _____ find their house easily with GPS.
   could
   were able to

• Answer

1. I _____ open the door while carrying all the shopping.
   ✔managed to
   could
2. The presentation wasn’t working at first but we _____ fix it.
   could
   ✔were able to
3. How did you _____ write a book so soon after having a baby?
   ✔manage to
   be able to
4. She _____ ski almost before she learned to walk.
   ✔could
   managed to
5. He _____ attend the last meeting due to his daughter’s illness.
   weren’t able to
   ✔couldn’t
6. _____ get your phone fixed? It looked very broken!
   ✔Did you manage to
   Could you
7. I _____ drink milk as a child because it always made me feel sick.
   ✔couldn’t
   didn’t manage to
8. The journey went fine yesterday and we _____ find their house easily with GPS.
   could
   ✔were able to

Read the explanation to learn more.阅读说明以了解更多信息。

Grammar explanation-语法解释

General ability-一般能力

We usually use could or couldn’t to talk about general abilities in the past. 过去我们通常用could或couldn’t来谈论一般能力。

She could paint before she started school. 她在上学之前就会画画。
I couldn’t cook until I went to university. 直到上了大学我才学会做饭。
When I lived next to the pool, I could go swimming every day. 当我住在游泳池旁边时，我每天都可以去游泳。

Ability on one occasion – successful-一次能力——成功

When we talk about achieving something on a specific occasion in the past, we use was/were able to (= had the ability to) and managed to (= succeeded in doing something difficult). 当我们谈论过去在特定场合完成某事时，我们使用 was/were able to (= 有能力) 和managed to (= 成功地做了一些困难的事情)。

The burglar was able to get in through the bathroom window. 窃贼能够从浴室的窗户进入。
The burglar managed to get in through the bathroom window even though it was locked. 尽管浴室的窗户是锁着的，窃贼还是设法从浴室的窗户钻了进去。

Could is not usually correct when we’re talking about ability at a specific moment in the past. 当我们谈论过去某个特定时刻的能力时，“could”通常是不正确的。

Ability on one occasion – unsuccessful一次能力——不成功

When we talk about a specific occasion when someone didn’t have the ability to do something, we can use wasn’t/weren’t able to, didn’t manage to or couldn’t. 当我们谈论某人没有能力做某事的特定场合时，我们可以使用 wast/weren’t able to、did’t manage to 或couldn’t。

The speaker wasn’t able to attend the conference due to illness. 演讲者因病未能出席会议。
She couldn’t watch the match because she was working. 因为她在工作，所以无法观看比赛。
They worked on it for months but they didn’t manage to find a solution. 他们花了几个月的时间来研究这个问题，但没有找到解决方案。

Note that wasn’t/weren’t able to is more formal than couldn’t, while didn’t manage to emphasises that the thing was difficult to do. 请注意，“wasn’t/weren’t able to”比“couldn’t”更正式，而“didn’t manage to”则强调这件事很难做到。

Do this exercise to test your grammar again.做这个练习来再次测试你的语法。

Grammar test 2-语法测试2

Past ability: 2

Choose the correct option to complete the sentences.

• Question

1. We were _____ leave our suitcases with reception while we waited for our room to be ready.
   could
   able to
2. We were _____ get a boat from the island that day because of the bad weather.
   not able to
   not manage to
3. I can’t believe you _____ get us a table at the restaurant. It’s always full!
   could
   managed to
4. I _____ afford to buy a car so I borrowed money from the bank.
   didn’t manage to
   couldn’t
5. Luckily, I _____ get to the airport on time, despite the traffic.
   managed to
   could
6. When I first moved to Argentina I _____ only speak a few words of Spanish.
   could
   managed to
7. He _____ swim until he had lessons when he was 20 years old.
   didn’t manage to
   couldn’t
8. I _____ touch my toes until I started doing yoga and became more flexible.
   could
   couldn’t

• Answer

1. We were _____ leave our suitcases with reception while we waited for our room to be ready.
   could
   ✔able to
2. We were _____ get a boat from the island that day because of the bad weather.
   ✔not able to
   not manage to
3. I can’t believe you _____ get us a table at the restaurant. It’s always full!
   could
   ✔managed to
4. I _____ afford to buy a car so I borrowed money from the bank.
   didn’t manage to
   ✔couldn’t
5. Luckily, I _____ get to the airport on time, despite the traffic.
   ✔managed to
   could
6. When I first moved to Argentina I _____ only speak a few words of Spanish.
   ✔could
   managed to
7. He _____ swim until he had lessons when he was 20 years old.
   didn’t manage to
   ✔couldn’t
8. I _____ touch my toes until I started doing yoga and became more flexible.
   could
   ✔couldn’t