MODUL 6 : PAST ABILITY
Apakah Anda tahu cara menggunakan could, was able, dan managed to untuk membicarakan kemampuan masa lalu? Uji apa yang Anda ketahui dengan latihan interaktif dan baca penjelasan untuk membantu Anda.
Lihatlah contoh-contoh berikut ini untuk melihat bagaimana could, was able to dan managed to digunakan.
- I could play the guitar when I was seven years old.
- The police weren't able to catch the speeding car.
- The bird managed to escape from its cage and fly away.
Penjelasan tata bahasa
General ability
Kita biasanya menggunakan could atau couldn’t untuk membicarakan kemampuan umum di masa lampau.
- She could paint before she started school.
- I couldn't cook until I went to university.
- When I lived next to the pool, I could go swimming every day.
Ability on one occasion – successful
Ketika kita berbicara tentang pencapaian sesuatu pada kesempatan tertentu di masa lalu, kita menggunakan was/were able to (= had the ability to) dan managed to (= succeeded in doing something difficult).
- The burglar was able to get in through the bathroom window.
- The burglar managed to get in through the bathroom window even though it was locked.
Could biasanya tidak tepat jika kita berbicara tentang kemampuan pada saat tertentu di masa lalu.
Ability on one occasion – unsuccessful
Ketika kita berbicara tentang kejadian tertentu ketika seseorang tidak memiliki kemampuan untuk melakukan sesuatu, kita dapat menggunakan wasn't/weren't able to, didn't manage to, atau couldn't.
- The speaker wasn't able to attend the conference due to illness.
- She couldn't watch the match because she was working.
- They worked on it for months but they didn't manage to find a solution.
Perhatikan bahwa wasn’t/weren’t lebih formal daripada couldn’t, sementara didn’t manage to menekankan bahwa hal tersebut sulit dilakukan.
