ABILITY : CAN and BE
ABLE TO
a) Yeteneklerimizi ifade ederken "can" ya da "be able to" kullanırız.
He can
speak two foreign languages fluently.
My son
doesn't attend school yet, but he can/is
able to read and write already.
Olumsuz cümlede can't ve am/is/are not able to
kullanılır.
He can run very long distances, but he can't run very fast.
He is able to run very
long distances, but he isn't able to
run very fast.
I can speak English, but I can't speak
French.
I'm able to speak English,
but I'm not able to speak French.
"Be able to" diğer tense'lere göre çekimlenebilir.
He is able to speak very good English. (Present)
He has been able to speak
English for ten years. (Present Perfect)
He was able to
speak good English when he was a child. (Simple Past)
He will be able to speak
English even better when he stays in England England England
b) "Can"
yapılması
mümkün olan olayları ifade ederken de kullanılır.
I'm very busy now, so I can't help you.
(It's not possible for me to help you now.)
I'll finish my work in an hour, so I can help
you then.
(It's possible for me to help you after I finish my work.)
I have very little money on me now, so I can't
lend you any. (It's
not possible for me to lend you any money now.)
I'll go to the bank in the afternoon, and I'll
withdraw some money from my bank account. Then I can lend you some.
(It will be possible for me to lend you some money after I've
withdrawn some from the bank.)
c) "Can", birine bir şey
yapması için izin verilirken de kullanılır. Bu kullanımıyla, "can",
"may" ile aynı anlamı
verir.
(The shop owner
to the customer)
- You can/may leave your purchases here until you finish your
shopping.
Then you can come and get them.
(Mother to her daughter)
- Because tomorrow is a holiday, you can/may stay up late tonight.
(Father to his son)
- You can
/may go on your date in my car if you wish.
(The teacher to the students)
- Those who
finish answering the questions can/may leave the classroom.
d) "Can" in past biçimi "could", "be able to"
nun past biçimi ise "was/were able to"
dur.
I could run very fast when I was a child.
I was
able to run very fast when I was a
child.
Some students in my previous class could/were
able to speak English almost fluently, but they weren't so good at grammar.
"Could", geçmişteki
yeteneklerimizi ya da geçmişte birine izin verme gibi
durumları ifade ederken
kullanılır.
Mozart could play the piano when he was only four, (ability in
the past)
My grandfather was very strong. He could lift
enormous boxes on his own. (ability in the
past)
It was raining heavily. We could go out only
when it stopped raining.
(permission in the past)
(It became possible for us to go out only when the
rain stopped.)
Because there was a holiday the next day, the
children could stay up late.
(permission in the past)
(It became possible for them to stay up late because there was a holiday
the next day.)
"Was/were able to" da. geçmişteki
yeteneklerimizi ya da geçmişteki izin verme durumlarını ifade ederken
kullanılır. Ancak, "geçmişte zor bir durumun üstesinden gelme"
anlamı (manage to do), sadece "was/were able to" ile ifade edilir. "Could" bu anlamda kullanılmaz.
(ability in the past)
He was a good student when he was in high school.
He could/was able to get very high grades in
every subject.
I had a good voice when I was younger.
I could/was able to sing very well, especially
folk songs.
(permission in the past)
When their maths teacher didn't come, the students could/were
able to leave school earlier than usual.
(one specific event in the past: only "was/were
able to")
The math exam was very difficult yesterday, but I was able to get
a high grade, anyway.
(I managed to get a high grade although the
exam was difficult.)
I overslept yesterday, and missed the bus, but I was
able to get to work on time by taxi.
(I managed to get to work on time by taxi.)
Last month, there was a huge fire in our street.
Luckily, the fire brigade came just in time to extinguish it, so everybody was able to
escape unhurt.
Örneklerde
gördüğünüz gibi, "was able to", "geçmişte belli bir
olayın (a specific event) üstesinden gelme" anlamını ifade ediyor. Şimdi
şu iki örneği karşılaştıralım.
When I was a child, I could/was able to run
very fast.
I could/was able to beat anyone who raced
with me. (ability in the past) Once, I
raced with a school friend of mine. She was also a fast runner. It was a hard
race for me, but I was able to beat her in the end.
(one specific event in the past)
Olumsuz
ifadelerde, her üç durum için de (ability, giving permission or one specific event in the past), "couldn't" ya da "wasn't/weren't
able to" kullanabiliriz. "Couldn't"
daha
çok kullanılır.
I couldn't/wasn't able to use a
computer just three months ago, but now I can.
The students
didn't want to have a test that
day, but they couldn't/weren't able
to persuade the teacher to cancel it.
