can, to be able to und to be allowed to
Welche Ersatzformen kann man anstelle von can verwenden?
Für can benutzt man häufig die Ersatzformen to be able to oder to be allowed to. Das liegt daran, dass man von can nur das Simple Past bilden kann (could). Möchte man einen Satz in anderen Zeitformen bilden, dann nimmt man die Ersatzformen.
Der englische Satz I can play football. hat verschiedene Bedeutungen:
- Ich kann Fußball spielen.
- Ich darf Fußball spielen.
Für das Können (die Fähigkeit, etwas zu tun) steht die Ersatzform to be able to,
für das Dürfen (Erlaubnis, etwas tun zu dürfen) steht die Ersatzform to be allowed to.
1. Bejahte Aussagesätze
| Zeitform | Modalverb | Ersatzform | Bemerkung |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple Present | I can play football. | I am able to play football. | Ich kann Fußball spielen. |
| I am allowed to play football. | Ich darf Fußball spielen. | ||
| Simple Past | I could play football. | I was able to play football. | Ich konnte Fußball spielen. |
| I was allowed to play football. | Ich durfte Fußball spielen. | ||
| will-future | nicht möglich | I will be able to play football. | Ich werde Fußball spielen können. |
| I will be allowed to play football. | Ich werde Fußball spielen dürfen. |
Es können auch noch von anderen Zeitformen die Ersatzformen gebildet werden.
Hier sind noch einge Beispiele:
- Present Perfect → I have been able to play football.
- Past Perfect → I had been able to play football.
- going to-future → I am going to be able to play football.
2. Verneinung
| Zeitform | Modalverb | Ersatzform | Bemerkung |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple Present | I cannot play football. | I am not able to play football. | Ich kann nicht Fußball spielen. |
| I am not allowed to play football. | Ich darf nicht Fußball spielen. | ||
| Simple Past | I could not play football. | I was not able to play football. | Ich konnte nicht Fußball spielen. |
| I was not allowed to play football. | Ich durfte nicht Fußball spielen. | ||
| will-future | nicht möglich | I will not be able to play football. | Ich werde nicht Fußball spielen können. |
| I will not be allowed to play football.I | Ich werde nicht Fußball spielen dürfen. |
3. Fragen
| Zeitform | Modalverb | Ersatzform | Bemerkung |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple Present | Can he play football? | Is he able to play football? | Kann er Fußball spielen? |
| Is he allowed to play football? | Darf er Fußball spielen? | ||
| Simple Past | Could he play football? | Was he able to play football? | Konnte er Fußball spielen? |
| Was he allowed to play football? | Durfte er Fußball spielen? | ||
| will-future | nicht möglich | Will he be able to play football? | Wird er Fußball spielen können? |
| Will he be allowed to play football? | Wird er Fußball spielen dürfen? |
| Zeitform | Modalverb | Ersatzform |
|---|---|---|
| Simple Present | I can play football. | I am allowed to play football. |
| Simple Past | I could play football. | I was able to play football. |
| I was allowed to play football. | ||
| will-future | nicht möglich | I will be able to play football. |
Do you know how to use could, was able to and managed to to talk about past abilities? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.
Look at these examples to see how could, was able to and managed to are used.
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.
Try this exercise to test your grammar.Grammar test 1
Read the explanation to learn more.
Grammar explanation
General ability
We usually use could or couldn’t to talk about general abilities in the past.
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
When we talk about achieving something on a specific occasion in the past, we use was/were able to (= had the ability to) and 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 is not usually correct when we’re talking about ability at a specific moment in the past.
Ability on one occasion – unsuccessful
When we talk about a specific occasion when someone didn’t have the ability to do something, we can use wasn’t/weren’t able to, didn’t manage to or 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.
Note that wasn’t/weren’t able to is more formal than couldn’t, while didn’t manage to emphasises that the thing was difficult to do.
