你知道was able to与could的区别吗
下面这一题你会做吗?
The fire spread through the hotel quickly but everyone __________ get out.
A. had to B. would C. could D. was able to
此题应选D。容易误选C(could)。这里主要涉及could与was able to的用法和区别:
1. 表示过去一般性能力时 (即某人想干什么就能干什么能力),两者都可用:
He could [was able to] run very fast when he was a boy. 他小时候跑得很快。
2. 表示过去特定的能力 (即某人在某一具体场合做某事的能力,往往暗示经过努力才具备的能力),通常用was(were)able to,也可用managed to do sth或succeeded in doing sth,但是不能用 could:
他学习很努力,所以考试及了格。
正:He worked very hard and was able to [managed to] pass his examination.
误:He worked very hard and could pass his examination.
正因为此原因,所以上面一题的答案用 ...was able to get out,而不用...could get out,因为此题谈及的是一种特定场合的具体能力。
但值得注意的是,以上用法只适合于肯定句,若在否定句中,则可用couldn’t代替 wasn’t [weren’t] able to:
He worked hard but wasn’t able to[couldn’t] pass the exam. 他学习很努力,但考试却未能及格。