Grammatica > Verbi > Verbi modali > Potere
I verbi modali can/could sono molte volte sostituiti nei tempi e nei modi mancanti (infinito, -ing form, futuro, present perfect...) da altri verbi, ma anche al present simple e al past simple. I verbi che li sostituiscono sono:
be able to (riuscire a, essere in grado di) / be unable to (non essere in grado di)
Peter is able to run for 3 hours without stopping. Peter è in grado correre per 3 ore senza fermarsi.
Will you be able to get there by nine? Riuscirai ad arrivare lì perle nove?
be able to (riuscire a, essere in grado di) / be unable to (non essere in grado di)
Peter is able to run for 3 hours without stopping. Peter è in grado correre per 3 ore senza fermarsi.
Will you be able to get there by nine? Riuscirai ad arrivare lì perle nove?
Present simple | am/is/are able to | I'm able to type fast. |
Past simple | was/were able to | He was able to repair John's car |
Present perfect | have/been able to | He has been able to speak Chinese |
Past perfect | had been able to | He had been able to park his car in that narrow place. |
Future simple | will be able to | Next week I will be able to buy this car. |
La forma negativa di be able to (riuscire a, essere in grado di) può essere espressa da be unable to (non essere in grado di)
I'm sorry to be unable to come. Mi dispiace di non poter venire.
I'm sorry to be unable to come. Mi dispiace di non poter venire.
Al passato si usa normalmente was/were able to invece di could per parlare di qualcosa che si è riuscito a fare in un certo momento del passato.
I was able to win the race. (non could win the race.)
Nelle frasi negative, invece, si può usare tanto couldn't che wasn't/weren't able to:
He wasn't able to find his keys. oppure He couldn't find his keys.
I was able to win the race. (non could win the race.)
Nelle frasi negative, invece, si può usare tanto couldn't che wasn't/weren't able to:
He wasn't able to find his keys. oppure He couldn't find his keys.
Si usa could/couldn't davanti ai verbi di percezione involontaria (see, hear, feel,...)
manage to (cavarsela a, riuscire a, specialmente quando la cosa è complicata e ci sono ostacoli da superare)
"Have you managed to talk to Mr Ross?"No, I haven't managed to talk to him yet. He's always so busy".
"Ce l'hai fatta a parlare al signor Ross?" No, non sono ancora riuscito a parlargli. È sempre così occupato".
Altre forme per indicare capacità | |
to be capable of + ing form | He is capable of driving that boat. |
to know how + infinito | He knows how to drive a boat. |
Quando si vuole sottolineare il significato di riuscita e il superamento di difficoltà, si usa: | |
to manage + infinito | He managed to drive that boat near the reef. |
to succed in + ing form | He succed in driving that boat near the reef. |