Past Abilities

COULD= Used to talk about general skills or abilities in

the past.
WAS/WERE ABLE TO= Used to talk about specific
achievements.
MANAGED TO=Used to talk about specific achievements
that were difficult.

Conversation Questions

Talk about the following with your group.

1. What are some things you could do when you were younger
that you cant do now?
2. Think about your country. What are some things that you
could do 10 years ago that you cant do now? What are some
things you couldnt do 10 years ago that you can do now?
3. Have any of the rules at work changed? How so? What are
some things that you could do in the past that you cant do
now? Is there anything you couldnt do in the past that you
can do now?
4. Talk about your biggest professional accomplishment. How
were you able to achieve this?
5. Think about you last few weeks at work. Tell about a
difficult task that you had to work on. How did you manage to
complete this task?

Ability Bluf
will/wont be able to- was/were able to- is/are able tocould/couldnt- manage to- can/can-t -

Write 5 sentences that describe a present, past or future

ability. Include some true and false statements. Describe your
abilities to your partner. Decide if what they are saying is true
or, they are just bluffing.