Could – Was/Were able to → General abilities in the past.

• I could / was able to touch my elbow with my tongue

when I was younger.

• My grandmother could / was able to dance like a

professional when she was a teenager.

• When we were children, we could / were able to jump

higher than we can now.

• My cousins could / were able to play football better than

me two years ago.

T. Héctor García
 Couldn’t – Wasn’t/Weren’t able to → Specific & General
abilities in the past.
• We couldn’t / weren’t able to find our lost cat.

• I couldn’t / wasn’t able to speak well when I was 8.

• My mother and I couldn’t / weren’t able to find any

other shoe shop at that mall.

• My brother couldn’t / wasn’t able to swim when he was

a child.

T. Héctor García
Was/Were able to → Specific abilities in the past.
• I was able to visit my grandmother when I went to India.

• We were able to find our car after looking for it through

all the parking lot.

• The government was finally able to grant scholarships to

all the students that have low resources.

• When I visited the USA, my boyfriend and I were able to

go to Disneyland for the very first time.

T. Héctor García
Modales que usamos para General Abilities:
Could – Couldn’t – Was/Were able to – Wasn’t/Weren’t able to
Modales que usamos para Specific Abilities:
Couldn’t – Was/Were able to – Wasn’t/Weren’t able to

O explicado de otra manera:

Could – General abilities

Couldn’t – General and Specific abilities
Was / Were able to – General and Specific Abilities
Wasn’t / Weren’t able to – General and Specific Abilities

T. Héctor García
Exercises:
Underline the correct answer, if both of them are correct,
underline both.
I. My mother was able to / could turn on the T.V after a
lot of attempts.

II. The neighbors weren’t able to / couldn’t paint their

house because it started raining.

III. I was able to / could run really fast when I was a child.

IV. My siblings and I were able to / could get into the

house quickly before the snow storm.

V. I was able to / could find my keys after looking for

them many times. especifica porque las encontraba despues de varios intentos

VI. They couldn’t / weren’t able to find a parking place.

VII. I was able to / could read a book in one day when I

was a teenager. es general porque lo hacia durante un largo
tiempo cuando era adolescente

VIII. We were able to / could finish on time before the time

was up.

IX. My granny was able to / could sew me the button of

my shirt before I left.

X. He wasn’t able to / couldn’t speak Portuguese as a

child.

T. Héctor García