Упр.28 Unit 2 ГДЗ Enjoy English 10 класс

28. Read and remember.

We use could or was/were able to to talk about general ability in the past.

I could speak French when I was 7.

We must use was/were able to when we speak about a particular situation. We can also use managed to (+ infinitive) or succeeded in (+ -ing form), especially when the action was difficult to do.

Mike was not at school yesterday, but we were able to speak to him over the telephone.

We managed to speak to him over the telephone. (not: We could speak to him…)

In negative sentences we can use could not for both general ability and particular situations.

When I was 7, I couldn’t speak German.

Mike was not at school yesterday, and we couldn’t speak to him.