14 Could, was able to, managed to

Could: requests, suggestions, and ability in the past

1 Some examples of could: Grammar in action
Couldyou tell me the time, please?
The car's not working, but we could take a taxi. *0 We use could to make polite requests
Ellen couldn't meet us at lunchtime. in public places. We might ask for / J»
directions on the street, or make а
2 We form sentences with could like this: request in a restaurant, hotel or bank: Я
could + verb Could you tell me the way to the
town centre, please? ~ Yes, of
We could go to the cinema. course. It's straight ahead.

POSITIVE § We use could to make suggestions when we're

Could l/he/she/it/you/we/they use your phone, please? deciding what to do. Here, we're
thinking about the weekend:
NEGATIVE
What shall we do this weekend? ~
Could l/he/she/it/you etc. come. We could go for a walk by the sea. ~
QUESTIONS OK.Icould make some sandwiches
Could l/he/she/it/you etc. say something? for a picnic.
§ We sometimes use could and
3 Could is the past form of can, but we often use it to
couldn't to talk about our ability to
make polite requests in present time:
do things a long time ago:
CouldIhave some water, please? ~ Of course.
Icould swim ten kilometres whenI 3
Couldyou shut the door? I'm cold.
was at school.
People couldn't go to New York for a
weekend whenIwas a child. Г*

A Making polite requests in public places

Lance and Petra are walking along a street in Alice Springs, Australia. Put the words
in the right order, and add polite requests. Use a capital letter at the beginning of the
requests, and a question mark at the end.
PETRA I'm thirsty, Lance. I'm going to get something from this lady.
(have/a bottle of water, please/
l/could)
LADY Sure. Here you are. That's 75 cents, please. Are you going anywhere nice?

1
LANCE Yes. We're going to Ayers Rock.
I u, (tell us/to the bus station, please/could/the way/you) I think we turn left here.
LADY Yes, you do. Walk all the way along Spring Street, and then cross Todd River. Bye!
J [Later, at the travel centre at the bus station.)
PETRA 1

I© (we/about the trip/some information/have/to Ayers Rock, please/could)

MAN Of course. We have a special offer at the moment - 98 dollars for a return ticket.

1 LANCE Excellent.
(a timetable, please/could/us/you/give)
PETRA There's a bus early in the morning, isn't there?

I A
MAN That's right. There's one at seven thirty. Here's the timetable.
LANCE Seven thirty is perfect.
(have/for tomorrow, please?/we/two return tickets/could)

54 Modals and other verbs

 Could, was able to, managed to
Couldn't, was able to, managed to: ability in the past
4 Some examples of couldn't, was able to, and 6 We form positive sentences with was/were able to
managed to: like this:
Icouldn't go to Kate's party.
was/were able to + verb
We were able to sell the house quickly.
Joe managed to find a cheap CD player. He was able to go.
They were able to go.
5 When we talk about our ability to do something at a
And we form sentences with managed to like this:
particular moment in the past, we can use couldn't:
Icouldn't park the car anywhere in the centre of town managed to + verb
this morning.
We managed to finish.
They couldn't find a hotel with a sea view.
But we can't normally use could:
We couid get two tickets for the concert
Grammar in action
Instead, we use was/were able to or managed to: <3 We use was/were able to, managed to and couldn't
We were able to get two tickets for the concert. to talk about our ability at particular moments in the
Imanaged to speak to Nancy at the party. past. Here, we're talking about last
weekend:
We were able to get a table at that
new French restaurant on Friday,
andImanaged to finish all my
college work on Saturday, but we
couldn't go for a walk on Sunday
because it rainedall day.

First match these

D Talking about last week
words with the
correct pictures: Holly and Eva are having a meal together on Sunday evening in their flat. Add the
lamp correct phrases to the conversation.
rug
coffee table HOLLY Did you have a good week, Eva?
fan EVA Not bad, thanks. яЫе. to.tÿlk . 0 (| was able talk/I was able to talk) to
mirror my boss about my trip to Paris. She's normally so busy. 1

(We were able to finish/We able to finish) my schedule of meetings.

0
[I] Ш HOLLY That's great. When do you leave?
EVA 2 (We
were managed to book/We managed to book) a flight
for 1 p.m on Tuesday. I'm looking forward to it. What about your week?
HOLLY It was OK. 3 (I
couldn't to sleep/l couldn't sleep) at night at the
j beginning of the week, because it was so hot.
EVA I know. 4 (I
managed to buy/I managed buy) a fan at the

m
A shops. You can borrow it when I'm in Paris, if you like. What about your room? Are
you comfortable there now?
HOLLY Yes, thanks. 5 (I was able
buy/I was able to buy) a beautiful
si new rug on Saturday, and my sister gave me a lamp. But
(I couldn't find/I couldn't to find) a mirror.
°Ш EVA Really? Have you tried the market?
George was managed to get) a coffee table there last year.
7
(George managed to get/

HOLLY No, I'll have a look there tomorrow.

56 | Modals and other verbs

В Making suggestions with friends and family
Francesca and Sean are going to spend the weekend in Newquay in Cornwall. The
word could is missing from Francesca's email. After the example, put 7' six more times
where could is missing.

Hi Sean,
Thanks very much for your message. I'm glad you're free at the weekend. We /drive to
Newquay around ten in the morning. It takes about four hours from my house. I bring
some sandwiches. We'll be hungry before we get there. In the afternoon we cycle along
Watergate Bay, perhaps.
It's beautiful there. You take some fantastic photos with your new camera! Then, in the
evening, we eat at 'Mickey's', if you like, the small fish restaurant in Newquay. It's very :
popular, so I reserve a table before we go. I've booked two rooms at the Sandy Beach
:
Hotel, of course. My friends Dave and Connie stay there every summer. They love it. :
Then, on Sunday we visit Sheila and Michael. They live in Exeter, on our way home.
What do you think?
Best wishes,
Francesca

..

C Talking about our abilities when we were younger

Bill is having coffee with his grandson, Jake, and his old friend, Lewis. Add the
following phrases to their conversation, using capital letters where necessary:

you couldn't change some English people could go I could run

you could buy we could only stay we couldn't travel I could- play all day

BILL How are you, Lewis? You look well.

LEWIS Really? I played tennis for an hour this morning, and I don't feel well! When I was
Jake's age, I cot/ld pjay «II °.
BILL I know. along the road for hours and hours when I was at
college. Now I'm tired after a short walk!
LEWIS Anyway, how are you, Jake? Bill says you're spending your gap year in China and A gap year is the year
south-east Asia. You're lucky. When we were fifteen or sixteen we left school, and between school and

....................
university, when
we went to work. 2
across the world. some students travel
JAKE But 3 to Spain and Greece in those days. I've read books by around the world,
English writers who travelled in Europe in the 1950s. or work on special
projects.
BILL That's true. In fact, I took a train to Italy when I was twenty. But
4
for a week or ten days, not for a year.
LEWIS Then we started work, and many of us worked for the same company all our lives!
BILL That's right. 5
jobs easily in those days.
JAKE But at least 6
a house, Grandad. They're too expensive for
young people now.
LEWIS That's true. Some things are more difficult these days, Bill.

Modals and other verbs | 55

E Moving flat
We use could for polite requests, suggestions, and general ability in the past. We use
was/were able to, managed to and couldn't for past ability at particular moments. Add
the following phrases to this email:

managed could couldn't could sleep managed to

could put could eat you help could you were able to

Hi Amy
I’m moving flat on Monday. Could
book a removals van, but I
I 3
... ..... 2
0
me? On Friday I

all my things in one box, but now I need ten! Anyway, I phoned my friend
Jake yesterday morning, and we
moved flat a month ago. And in the afternoon, we
4
get some boxes from his sister - she
5
1

find any boxes in town. When I was a student,

to sell my old bed to

Jake’s brother for £20! He’s going to start university in September. So I need to buy a new
IP

bed quickly. I 6
on the floor for a week or two when I was younger, but not
now! Anyway, 7
help me for an hour or so on Sunday morning? I need some
advice the kitchen: could take all my old plates, cups and knives and forks to the new flat,
in I
or I throw them away! What do you think? We 9
a pizza

У
afterwards, if you like. Look forward to hearing from you.
Best Wishes, Fred

F A hospital visit
James and his daughter Kay are visiting Kay's sister, Jo, in hospital. Add the following
words or phrases to the conversation:

managed able see have you could couldn't

see
JAMES Hello. Could we /Jo Corrigan, please?
NURSE I'm sorry, but you can't see her at the moment.

JAMES Really? When my wife was in hospital in January, we were to visit her all
the time.
NURSE That's right, but at the moment we don't have enough nurses on the ward.

JAMES I suppose we come back later, Kay.

NURSE Could come back in an hour, perhaps?

KAY But is she OK after the operation?

NURSE Oh yes. She eat her dinner last night, but she to have some breakfast this Hospital words
morning. Look up the nouns
nurse, ward and
JAMES Don't worry, Kay. We could a coffee in the hospital cafe. Thank you, nurse. operation.

We'll come back later.

OVER TO YOU Now go to page 124.

Modals and other verbs | 57