Can, could and be able to

We use can (do) to say that something is posibble or that someone has the ability to
do something. The negative is can't (cannot).
Kita menggunakan can (do) untuk mengatakan sesuatu itu mungkin atau seseorang
yang memiliki kemampuan untuk melakukan sesuatu. Bentuk negatifnya adalah
can't (cannot).

 You can see the sea from our bedroom window.

Kamu bisa melihat lautan dari jendela kamar kita.
 Can you speak any foreign languages?
Bisakah kamu berbicara beberapa bahasa asing?
 I'm afraid I can't come to your party next Friday.
Saya takut tidak bisa datang ke pestamu jumat depan.

Be able to is possible instead of can, but can is more usual:

Be able to juga memungkinkan untuk digunakan sebagai pengganti dari can, tapi
can lebih umum digunakan:

 Are you able to speak any foreign languages?

Apakah kamu bisa berbicara beberapa bahasa asing?

But can has only two forms: can (present) and could (past). So sometimes you
have to use be able to:
Tapi can hanya memiliki dua bentuk: can (present) dan could (past). Jadi terkadang
anda harus menggunakan be able to:

 I haven't been able to sleep recently. (can has no present perfect)

Saya tidak bisa tidur akhir-akhir ini.
 Tom might not be able to come tomorrow. (can has no infinitive)
Tom mungkin tidak bisa datang besok.

Could and was able to

Could dan was able to
Sometimes could is the past of can. We use could especially with these verbs:
Terkadang could merupakan bentuk lampau dari can. Kita menggunakan could
khususnya dengan kata-kata kerja berikut ini:

see hear smell feel remember understand

melihat mendengar mencium merasa mengingat mengerti

 When we went into the house, we could smell burning.

Ketika kita pergi ke rumah, kita bisa mencium bau kebakaran.
 She spoke in a low voice but I could understand what she was saying.
Dia berbicara dengan suara yang rendah tapi saya bisa memahami apa
yang telah dia katakan.
We also use could to say that someone had the general ability to do something.
Kita juga menggunakan could untuk mengatakan bahwa seseorang mempunyai
kemampuan umum untuk melakukan sesuatu.

 My grandfather could speak five languages.

Kakek saya bisa berbicara lima bahasa.
 When Tom was 16, he could run 100 metres in 11 seconds.
Ketika Tom berusia 16 tahun, dia bisa berlari 100 meter dalam 11 detik.

But if you mean that someone managed to do something in one particular situation,
you have to use was/were able to (not could):
Tetapi jika anda bermaksud untuk mengungkapkan bahwa seseorang telah
mengatur untuk melakukan sesuatu dalam suatu keadaan tertentu, maka anda
harus menggunakan was/were able to (bukan could):

 The fire spread through the building very quickly but everyone was able
(=managed) to escape. (not 'could escape')
Api menjalar melalui gedung dengan sangat cepat tetapi orang-orang bisa
meloloskan diri.
 They didn't want to come with us at first but in the end we were able
(=managed) to persuade them. (not 'could persuade')
Mereka tidak ingin datang bersama kita pada awalnya tetapi pada
akhirnya kita bisa membujuk mereka.

Compare could and was able to in this example:

Bandingkan penggunaan could dan was able to pada contoh berikut ini:

 Jack was an excellent tennis player. He could beat anybody. (= He had

the ability to beat anybody)
Jack adalah seorang pemain tenis yang handal. Dia bisa mengalahkan
siapa saja.
 But once he had the difficult game against Alf. Alf played very well but in
the end Jack was able to beat him. (= He managed to beat him in this
particular game)
Tapi sekali dia pernah mengalami permainan yang sulit ketika melawan
Alf. Alf bermain dengan sangat baik tetapi pada akhirnya Jack mampu
mengalahkan Alf.

The negative couldn't is possible in all situations:

Bentuk negatif couldn't memungkinkan untuk digunakan dalam semua situasi:

 My grandfather couldn't swim.

Kakek saya tidak bisa berenang.
  We tried hard but we couldn't persuade them to come with us.
Kita sudah berusaha keras tetapi Kita tidak bisa membujuk mereka untuk
datang bersama kita.

Can, Could, Be able to

Can and could are modal auxiliary verbs. Be able to is NOT an auxiliary verb (it uses the
verb be as a main verb). We include be able to here for convenience.

In this lesson we look at these three verbs, followed by a quiz to check your understanding:

 Can
 Could
 Be able to
 Can, Could, Be able to Quiz