could

English translation: was able to

13:32 May 29, 2018

English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Linguistics / use of \"could\" versus \"was able\"

English term or phrase: could

Hi,
I know from school that “could” is generally used in the past to express ability (I could swim when I was young) and “able to” to refer to a specific event in the past (When I was at the seaside last summer, I was able to swim from Canary Beach to Nightingale Beach…) (sorry for my examples!!).
I have a doubt, though, about the use of “could” in the passage below: it is about a little girl, Alice, who was told by her parents that they have to move to another city. To cope with this difficult situation, she wrote a story and made a video. After the description of the girl’s story, the authors use “could” many times: so I guess they refer to a general ability of this little girl, don’t they? Or is “could” used here in the sense of “was able to”, because it seems to refer specifically to this event, above all in the sentence “Because she was aware of her own sadness and fear (and a little bit of excitement…”?
Thank you for your help!
*****************
(Alice's story)
Lightbulbs
Brains are important. They hold many feelings, like sad, mad, happy, playful. I think of feelings as a string of lightbulbs. When I’m happy, that string is on. When too many lightbulbs are on at once, I get confused and scared. I feel like that now because I am moving. I feel sad and scared about moving, but I also feel a little bit excited. If you ever feel like too many lightbulbs are on at once, sit quietly and take a deep breath. That feels good.

(authors' comment about the story)

This is what we mean when we talk about using insight to take charge of our emotions and the way we respond to circumstances. Because she was aware of her own sadness and fear (and a little bit of excitement), Alice ** could ** pay attention to those feelings and respond in a productive and healthy manner. Notice that this story is all from the perspective of Alice as spectator. Alice the player is the one who cried, the one who felt confused and scared. That’s an important aspect of herself, and she needed to remain aware of, and even embrace, that part of who she is. But because she ** could ** go to her spectator and view her situation as if from outside of herself, she ** could ** also achieve insight and perspective. This is how Alice was showing integration— she ** could ** embrace both the player and spectator part of her mind. That’s the essence of integration— linking different parts of our experiences and aspects of our selves. And integration is the core of a Yes Brain. Alice ** could ** even offer advice for others who are struggling, which you see in her recommendation about sitting quietly and taking a deep breath— which of course is essentially the pause between the stimulus and the response.

haribert KudoZ activity Questions: 289 (1 open) (1 without valid answers) (1 closed without grading) Answers: 524
Local time: 22:48

Selected answer:was able to

Explanation:
You ask whether these were general abilities, or just referred to this specific event, but I don't think this is a meaningful distinction in English.

could
modal verb
You use could to indicate that someone had the ability to do something. You use could not or couldn't to say that someone was unable to do something.
I could see that something was terribly wrong.
When I left school at 16, I couldn't read or write.
http://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/could

Selected response from:

philgoddard
United States

Grading comment

Thank you so much, Phil, for your valuable help! A sincere thanks also to Terry: if I could, I would give the points to you, too!
Many thanks also to all other contributors, especially Charles and Herbalchemist in the Discussion for their precious tips. Have a nice weekend!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED

4 +3

was able to

philgoddard

4 +1

was able

Terry Richards

Discussion entries: 7

haribert

ASKER

Herbalchemist,

17:23 May 29, 2018

Thank you so much for your help!

Herbmione Granger

Germany

criterion

16:50 May 29, 2018

As Charles pointed out, the distinction between general ability and situational ability is important. In all of your ST cases, it is general ability. These aren't goals that were achieved. They are similar to abilities acquired.

Herbmione Granger

Germany

The last one is tricky

16:38 May 29, 2018

This paragraph is all about empowerment. In the end, because she was able to overcome her struggles, she was then able to help others that were experiencing the same thing. Her experience enabled her to help others with the same problem.

haribert

ASKER

Charles and Herbalchemist, Thank you so much

16:25 May 29, 2018

for your help!
Actually, it is just the last "could" that is causing me trouble..: I interpret it as "she was able in this particular instance to offer advice to others" referring to the last part of the story.. or should I interpret it as a general ability: she usually can offer this kind of advice?

Herbmione Granger

Germany

Hi Haribert

16:05 May 29, 2018

It's good that you picked up on this if you are translating into another language. This is a special and rather informal case of using could in cause/effect statements. It might help to rewrite these statements, since not all the coulds are the same:
Awareness of her own sadness and fear *enabled Alice to* be sensitive to these feelings...
*Her ability to* (normal) go to her spectator... also *enabled her to* (causal)...
*Alice's ability to* embrace...
Another important consequence is that this experience *enabled Alice to* give advice...

And then rewrite them again to suite the tone and language.

Charles Davis

Spain

@haribert

16:04 May 29, 2018

That BBC page is pretty good, I think.

I do think the distinction between possessing an ability in general terms (could) and being able to do something in a particular situation (was able to) is a major part of this. The non-availability of certain verb forms, requiring "be able to" instead of "can/could" in some situations, is another factor, as is the problem of ambiguity that can arise with "could", which is not just past but also conditional; sometimes "was able to" will be used for this reason. The point about verbs of perception and thought is also a good one.

On your example: "A man fell into the river yesterday. The police were able to save him". Yes, that's the criterion of general ability vs particular situation, and "managed to" would fit well there too. You wouldn't say "The police could save him". And yet if it were negative you could use "could" (if you'll pardon the expression): you could say either "The police were unable to save him" or "The police couldn't save him" (i.e., they tried but they didn't succeed), the latter being a bit less formal.

haribert

ASKER

Hi,

14:35 May 29, 2018

I've seen that there may be differences in the use of "could" and "was able" in the past, but probably only in some cases...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/youmeus/le...

was able to / managed to

We tend to use was able to or managed to if we are talking about what happened in a particular situation or are referring to a specific achievement:

Were you able to / Did you manage to speak to him before he left home?
~ No, I'm sorry, I wasn't able to / didn't manage to reach him.

The fog came down and I wasn't able to / didn't manage to get to the top of the mountain.

My brother wanted to carry on, but we managed to / were able to talk him out of it.

However, with verbs that refer to the five senses, see, hear, smell, feel, taste, and with verbs that refer to thought processes, understand, believe, remember, decide, we normally use could, even when we are talking about specific occasions:

He was standing very close to me and I could smell the garlic on his breath.

He asked me when Julie's birthday was, but I couldn't remember.

I couldn't decide whether to ask him for a lift or not.

I could see that he'd been running.

Answers

8 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +3

was able to

philgoddard
United States
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 16

Grading comment

Notes to answerer

Asker: Thank you, Phil! I've found this distinction here: https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verbs-modals-can-could-able.htm

Asker: The examples are "my grandmother could speak Spanish" and "A man fell into the river yesterday. The police were able to save him."

11 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

was able

Explanation:
The author is talking about an event that has already happened, therefore it is in the past tense and could is the past of can.

Note that "can/could" is used here in a strictly correct way, to mean "able". It is frequently used incorrectly instead of "may" for asking permission. "Can I go to the park?" instead of "May I go to the park?". The clue here is the question mark, if there is no question mark (as in your context) then it means "able".

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Note added at 1 hr (2018-05-29 14:33:38 GMT)
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There is a difference between can/could and "be able to" in that "be able to" can use more tenses that can/could. However, for the simple past, they are effectively identical.

Also, to my ear, can/could implies ability but not necessarily action. I can bark at dogs (but I generally don't). Whereas "The police were able to save him" more strongly implies that they actually did so. It's a subtle difference at best though.

Terry Richards
France
Local time: 22:48
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 12

Notes to answerer

Asker: Thank you Terry! Actually I've found here a distinction between "could" and "was able to" https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verbs-modals-can-could-able.htm

Asker: The examples are "my grandmother could speak Spanish" and "A man fell into the river yesterday. The police were able to save him."

Asker: Thank you so much, Terry! Actually, the distinction you mention between ability (could) vs. action (was able to) was what I was wondering about. Probably, though, this distinction is more in grammar books than in actual usage. Thanks for your patience!

Asker: I'm sorry I can give the points only to one of you: if I could, I'd give them to you, too: thanks for your precious help and have a nice weekend!

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