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Using Can, able to, managed to in English

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can, able to, managed to

In this English lesson you will learn how we use can, able to, managed to in English.

Can/could for general ability

If you have the ability to do something we use ‘can’ and ‘could’.

Examples:

I can/can’t run fast.

I could/couldn’t run fast when I was five.

Can has no infinitive or past participle so we need to use ‘be able to’ for:

the future – I will be able to visit Rome soon. I have saved enough money.

the present perfect – I have never been able to play the piano.

-ing form – I like being able to drive.

the infinitive – I’d love to be able to travel the world.

Managed to, was able to, couldn’t

We use these for a single event or specific achievement in the past.

Examples:

I managed to get to work on time even though the bus was running late.

I wasn’t able to watch the game because my TV was broken.


Here’s another English lesson for you to study.

Here are my English courses on curious.com.

Filed Under: B1 (intermediate), B2 (upper-intermediate), Grammar, Video Tagged With: be able to, can, could, english b1, english lesson, managed to

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