I’m studying:
Try the activities, then check your answers.
Try the activities, then check your answers.
Choose a short recording.
Describe an earlier ability
Use could with the base verb for a skill or ability you generally had in the past.
When I was ten, I could swim.
My grandmother could speak three languages.
A past skill does not settle the present situation
What is statedMy grandmother could play the piano.She had this general ability at the earlier time.
What is not statedCan she play it now?The past-ability statement alone does not answer this question.
My grandmother could speak three languages.Could describes a general ability at an earlier time.
Describe an earlier difficulty
Use couldn’t when the ability was absent at that past time.
I couldn’t drive when I was sixteen.
He couldn’t read before school.
Compare then and now
Use can for now and could for a past period. Ask past ability questions with could.
Could you ride a bike when you were five?
I couldn’t cook then, but I can now.
Guided practice
Say or write your answer first. Compare form and meaning with the model.
1. Complete: At twelve, she could ___ well. Use dance.
Compare a model and explanation
dance
Use the base form after could.
2. Make negative: I could swim.
Compare a model and explanation
I couldn’t swim.
Use couldn’t.
3. Correct: Could you to read at five?
Compare a model and explanation
Could you read at five?
Do not add to after could.
4. Correct: He could plays the piano.
Compare a model and explanation
He could play the piano.
Do not add -s.
5. Ask about an earlier general ability: speak French at school.
Compare a model and explanation
Could you speak French when you were at school?
Other clear earlier periods are acceptable.
6. Answer no: Could you drive at seventeen?
Compare a model and explanation
No, I couldn’t.
Keep could in the short answer.
7. Compare: no swimming skill before, swimming skill now.
Compare a model and explanation
I couldn’t swim before, but I can now.
Make the times clear.
8. Does I could swim at eight tell us about one completed swim on one day?
Compare a model and explanation
No. It describes a general skill at that age.
A one-off achievement needs separate context and treatment.
A short conversation
Listen first, then open the transcript when useful.
Open the conversation transcript
A: Could you swim when you were six?
B: No, I couldn’t. I learned when I was eight.
A: Could you ride a bike?
B: Yes, I could. I rode to the park every weekend.
Listening checks
Listen to each extract or open its transcript. These three questions have a separate score.
I couldn’t cook then, but I can now.Couldn’t describes the earlier difficulty; can describes the present ability.
Mastery quiz
Choose the best answer for each situation. The score is out of eight.
Use it in your own words
Speaking 1
Name two things you could do as a child.
Reveal a possible response
I could swim and I could ride a bike.
Success check: Use could for general abilities.
Speaking 2
Ask a partner about two childhood skills.
Reveal a possible response
Could you cook at ten? Could you play an instrument?
Success check: Keep the questions about abilities.
Put it all together
Compare your skills at two ages with your skills now.
Reveal a possible response
At six, I couldn’t swim. At ten, I could swim well. Now I can swim a long way.
Success check: Make each age or time clear.
Take it with you
I can describe general abilities at an earlier time.
