Speaker 1: Is it I can do that, or I'm able to
do that. I could do that, or I was able
to do that? And what about I'll be able to
do that? Today, it's all about ability and possibility. Let's
check it out.
Speaker 2: Welcome to another Happy English podcast, coming to you from
New York City, and here's your English teacher, Michael.
Speaker 1: All right, thank you John, and thanks everyone. It's Michael
here from Happy English and I help people speak English better.
And this is Happy English Podcast, Episode eight oh five.
Talk about ability, using can, could and be able to.
When you want to talk about ability, you can use
either can or be able to. Can and be able
to are similar in meaning, but the way we use
them is different. And that's what we're going to run
through today. When you talk about someone's general or usual ability,
you can use both be able to and can, but
can is more conversational, like did you know that I
can play the guitar? Well? I can, It's true. And
here's another fun fact about me. Aside from English, I
can speak Japanese. One of my students is Italian and
she can speak English, Japanese, Spanish, and French. That's quite
a language ability. So when you use can, like this
to talk about someone's general or usual ability. There's no
special nuance connected to can. Like when I say that
Jack can cook Chinese food, it just means that he
has that ability, nothing more. On the other hand, when
you talk about ability using be able to, there's a
nuance that there may have been some reason or condition
that prevents you from having that ability. Let me give
you an example. My cousin learned how to play the
piano when she was growing up, but for the past
several years she lived in a small studio apartment, so
there was no place for her piano. That changed a
few weeks ago when she moved into a house in
the suburbs. There's plenty of space for her piano, and
now finally she's able to play the piano. She is
able to play the piano, she overcame the condition that
prevented her from doing that for the past several years.
This distinction between can and be able to is also
the same when we are talking about ability in the future.
Like if a friend says, let's have dinner after work tomorrow,
can you make it at six? I would reply, I
have to work till five thirty, so I can make
it to the restaurant by six point thirty. We tend
to use can for future plans or arrangements when the
timing or situation is relatively certain, like the weather is
going to be nice this weekend, so we can go
to the park on Saturday. On the other hand, we
tend to use ba able to when we talk about
a condition in the future or an uncertain possibility in
the future, like with more practice, you're gonna be able
to speak English fluently. Your ability to speak English fluently
depends on the practice you put in. Here's another example.
I have to work late tomorrow, so I don't know
if I will be able to make it to the
party on time. My work schedule is the condition that
will determine my ability to make it to the party
on time. Now that you know this, you can speak
more precisely about your ability in the future. So what
about the past. Well, first of all, the past of
can is could, and we use could when we talk
about someone's general ability in the past, Like when Donna
was a kid, she could play the piano really well.
Playing the piano was her general ability. And Donna's brother
could play tennis and handball. He used to be pretty
good at those sports, and we could when we talk
about someone's general ability to do something in the past.
On the other hand, we tend to use was able
to when we talk about a specific event or a
particular situation where someone succeeded in doing something like even
though it took a lot of paperwork and meetings, Jack
was finally able to get Alan to start his new business.
Here's another example. Yesterday, my coworker Anna told me that
she lost her keys, and I was wondering about that
this morning. So when I saw her, I asked her,
were you able to find your keys? In situations like this,
we don't use could. Keep in mind, the best way
to remember English like this and any other word or
phrase in English is to take that word or phrase,
write it in a sentence that's true for you or
true in your world, and then memorize your sentences. Did
you know You can get more practice using your English
when you join my podcast Learners study group. There you
can make new friends, join us for live group lessons
every week where we practice these podcast lessons together. Plus
you get access to the PDF transcript and audio download
for every Happy English podcast in the past and in
the future, and On top of that, each episode has
exercises where you can practice this English point with speaking
and writing checked by me. To learn more, just visit
Myhappy English dot com and choose podcast lesson eight oh five. Remember,
learning another language is not easy, but it's not impossible,
and I'm here to help you on your journey.
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