Can, could and (be) able to

■ CAN – používame, keď chceme povedať, že niečo je možné, alebo že niekto má
schopnosť urobiť niečo.
                                           can + infinitive
                               (can do, can spell, can see,. . )

● We can speak five foreign languages.
● I can draw a dinosaur with a pencil in my mouth.
● Can you come tomorrow?

Záporná forma je can´t (=cannot):
● I can´t speak French.
● She can´t spell her name in English.
● They can´t sleep.

■ Namiesto 'can' je niekedy možné použiť aj 'be able to', no nie je to veľmi bežné, napr.: ● Are you able to speak Italian?

'Can' má ale iba dve formy :can (present), could (past) a tak je niekedy potrebné použiť (be) able to . .

VŠIMNITE SI!
● I can´t sleep. ALE I haven´t been able to sleep recently. (can nemá predprítomný čas 'present perfect'
● Tom can come tomorrow. ALE Tom might be able to come tomorrow. (can nemá žiadny neurčitok)

 
■ Could a was able to . . .
Could používame hlavne s nasledujúcimi slovesami:
see hear  smell        taste  feel remember understand

● When I went into the house I could hear a strange noise.
● She was talking quietly but I could understand her. 

Could používame na vyjadrenie, že niekto má všeobecnú schopnosť alebo dovolenie urobiť niečo:
● My uncle could speak ten foreign languages.
● They were completely free. They could do what they wanted.

Ak však hovoríme, čo sa stalo v určitej situácii, používame  was / were able to . . . alebo managed to . .  (NIE could!):

● Everybody was able to escape from the fire. ALEBO ... Everybody managed to escape from the fire. (NIE could escape)
● There was nobody to disturb me so I was able to finish my homework. ALEBO.. I managed to finish my homwork. (NIE could finish)

VŠIMNITE SI!
● Peter was an excellent tennis player. He could beat anybody. (= mal všeobecnú schopnosť poraziť kohokoľvek).
ALE:
● Peter and Michael had a game of tennis yesterday. Michael played well but Peter managed to beat him  . . . or  . . .was able to beat him (= dokázal ho poraziť v tejto konkrétnej hre).

Zápornú formu could not (couldn´t) môžeme použiť vo všetkých situáciách:
● My uncle couldn´t speak ten foreign languages.
● Peter couldn´t beat anybody.
● Michael played well but he couldn´t beat Peter.

ZOPAKUJME SI!
1. Kedy používame sloveso ‚can‘?
2. S akými slovesami sa často používa sloveso ‚could‘? Uveďte príklad.
3. Uveďte 3 príklady na sloveso ‚be able to‘.

Použitá literatúra:
Raymond Murphy: English grammer in use

Vypracovala: PaedDr. Ivana Dulová