(Ability) ►A magyar „TUD” ige három dolgot jelenthet: 1. tud, ismer valamit - ehhez a megfelelő angol ige: KNOW – Ez nem modális segédige, hanem valódi ige! pl. I know your name. (Tudom a nevedet.) He knows my sister. (Ismeri a nővéremet.) They didn’t know where they are. (Nem tudták, hol vannak.)
2. TUD VALAMIT CSINÁLNI (tud …ni) - általában tanult tudás, olyan tudás, amelyet elméletileg tud valaki - ennek angol kifejezéséhez modális segédigét kell használnunk: - ez csak a jelenre vonatkozó tudást fejezheti ki! pl. He can swim. (Tud úszni.) ● Ellentéte (nem tud …ni): CANNOT (can’t) pl. He can’t swim. (Nem tud úszni.) ● Múltban (tudott): COULD pl. He could swim when he was 10 months old. (Tudott úszni, amikor 10 hónapos volt.) I couldn’t swim until I was 12 years old. (Nem tudtam úszni, amíg 12 éves nem lettem.) ● Jövőben (tudni fog): WILL BE ABLE TO pl. He will be able to swim in a year. (Egy éven belül tudni fog úszni.) (Megj.: ez nem modális segédige, de hasonló jelentést hordozó modális kifejezés)
3. KÉPES, (fizikailag) TUD VALAMIT CSINÁLNI - fizikai képességet, tudást fejez ki - ennek angol kifejezéséhez modális jelentésű kifejezést használunk (ami nem modális segédige, de hasonló jelentésárnyalatot hordoz): - ezt a kifejezést jelen, múlt és jövő időben (illetve egyéb igeidőkban) is használhatjuk: jelenben: am/is/are able to (tud/képes …ni) múltban: was/were able to (tudott/képes volt …ni) jövőben: will be able to (tudni fog/képes lesz …ni) pl. The lake is deep enough so he is able to swim. (A tó elég mély, ezért tud/képes úszni.)
The lake was deep enough so he was able to swim. (A tó elég mély volt, ezért tudott/képes volt úszni.) The lake is deep enough so he will be able to swim. (A tó elég mély, ezért képes lesz úszni.) ● Ellentéte: a rendes szórendi szabályok alapján használjuk a ”not” tagadószót a létigével am/is/are not able to (am not/ isn’t /aren’t able to) was/were not able to (wasn’t/weren’t able to) will not be able to (won’t be able to) pl. The lake is not deep enough so he isn’t able to swim. (A tó nem elég mély, ezért nem tud/képes úszni.) The lake was not deep enough so he wasn’t able to swim. (A tó nem volt elég mély, ezért nem tudott/ nem volt képes úszni.) The lake is deep enough so he will be able to swim. (A tó nem elég mély, ezért nem lesz képes úszni.) Megjegyzés: ● Az ”able to” kifejezést leginkább a fizikai képesség hangsúlyozására használjuk. Sokszor – bár fizikai képességről van szó – megfelelő lehet a can/could használata is, hiszen a szövegkörnyezet úgyis egyértelművé teszi, hogy fizikai képességről beszélünk. pl. He has broken his leg so he isn’t able to walk now. (Eltörte a lábát, ezért most nem tud járni.) → egyértelmű, hogy fizikailag nem tud járni (megmutatja a szövegkörnyezet) → lehet a ’can’-t is használni: He has broken his leg so he can’t walk now. ● A ”can” csak jelen időre vonatkozhat, a ”could” pedig csak múlt időre. Ezért, ha azt akarjuk elmondani, hogy valaki a jövőben tudni fog valamit elméletileg, a hasonló jelentésű ”will be able to” szerkezetet használjuk! pl. jelen: He can swim. (Tud úszni.) múlt: He could swim. (Tudott úszni.) jövő: He will be able to swim. (Fog tudni úszni.) Ugyanez vonatkozik egyéb igeidőkre is! pl. Present Perfect: He has been able to swim since he was 4 years old. (4 éves kora óta tud úszni.) ● A ”can” sokszor szerepel az érzékelést, gondolkodást jelentő igék előtt, úgy, hogy magyarra nem fordítjuk le. (Ennek oka, hogy az ilyen ige statikus jelentésű, de ha ki akarjuk fejezni, hogy folyamatosan érzékelünk valamit, a ”can” ebben segít.) pl. jelenben: I can hear a strange noise. (Furcsa zajt hallok.) I can’t see anything. (Semmit sem látok.) múltban: I could hear a strange noise. (Furcsa zajt hallottam.) I couldn’t see anything. (Semmit sem láttam.)
1) Complete the sentences with the modals CAN, CAN'T, COULD, COULDN’T. 1. When Tom was 16, he was a fast runner. He ______ run 200 metres in 22 seconds. 2. I'm afraid I ______ come to your party next Saturday. 3. I'm not in a hurry. I've got plenty of time. I _______ wait. 4. I was feeling terribly sick yesterday. I ________ eat anything. 5. Can you speak loudly, please? I _______ hear you very well. 6. "You look exhausted." "Yes, I _________ sleep last night. 2) Decide whether the sentences are gramatically correct or not. 1. I can ski. 2. She can plays tennis. 3. We can to read well. 4. He can sing German songs. 5. We can understand the question. 6. She can wrote long letters. 7. He translate can it. 8. Bridget Jones can lose weight 3) Fill in the sentences with can / can´t + a verb from the list. come
sleep
hear
speak
see
1. I´m sorry but we _____ _____ to your party next Saturday. 2. I like this hotel room. I _____ ______ the mountains from the window. 3. The radio is too quiet. I ______ ______ it. 4. Catherine is an air-hostess and she ______ ______ foreign languages. 5. I am tired but I ______ ______ . 4) Use ‘can’, ‘could’ or ‘able to’ in the right form (affirmative, negative, present, future, present perfect or past) 1. __________ you stand on your hand? I __________ when I was young but I __________n’t now. 2. I __________ remember her address, that’s why I don’t find her house. 3. When the fog lifts we __________ see where we are. 4. I knew the town so I __________ advise him where to go. 5. At the age of 5 she __________ read quite well. 6. The swimmer was very tired but he __________ reach the shore before he collapsed.
7. ____________ your brother drive a car? 8. He’s very strong. He _______________ lift anything. 9. I _______________ ride a bicycle when I was only three. 10. When he was young, he _______________ run very fast. 11. He’s very handy. He _______________ do anything around the house. 12. The adder is the only British snake that _______________ kill a man. 13. I’ve forgotten my key. So I _______________ (not) come in. 14. By means of X-rays, scientists ________________________demonstrate that King Arthur’s round table was actually made in 1330. 15. He’d be hopeless as a managing director. He _______________(not) make up his mind about anything. 16. He said there were five coins under the bed, but I’ve been looking for more than ten minutes and I _____________________ find only three. 17. When the new wing at the hotel is built, they _________________________take more guests. 18. They have been researching into that illness for years, but they ______________ (not) find out the cause of it. 19. I (not) ______________________ see the beginning of the film because we arrived too late. 20. We ___________________ do a lot of things to help other people. 21. He has tried a lot of times, but he (not) __________________ give up smoking yet. 22. I _________________ win the race because all my team helped me a lot. 23. I (not) _______________________ go on holiday since I started working here. 24. I (not) _______________________ go to Mary’s wedding because I had to work. 25. When I finish my diet, I ___________________ eat sweets again. 26. I (not) _____________________ open the door. I left my keys in the office. 27. When the snow on the road was cleared up, we ____________________ continue our journey. 5) Translate the following sentences. 1. Tom tud vezetni, de nincs kocsija. 2. Nem tudom a fiú nevét, ezért nem tudok beszélni róla. 3. Carol nagyapja hetven éves. Amikor fiatal volt, sok barátja volt, és le tudta futni a maratont. Most nem tud ennyit futni, de tud úszni, és még most is sok barátja van. 4. Egész este a hivatalban voltunk. Sok dolgunk volt, és nem tudtuk befejezni a munkát este nyolc előtt. 5. Nem tudom felemelni ezt a bőröndöt, mert túl nehéz. 6. Képtelen vagyok gondolkodni ebben a zajban. 7. Péter hétévesen tudott fára mászni. 8. Miért nem voltál képes ajtót nyitni? 9. Tudom, hogy nem tudsz majd válaszolni. 10. Már egy órája képtelen vagyok befejezni ezt a levelet.
KEY: 1) 1. could 2. can’t 2) 1. 2. She can plays tennis. 3. We can to read well. 3) 1. can’t come 2. can see 4) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27.
3. can 4. couldn’t
5. can’t 6. couldn’t
4. 5. 6. She could write long letters. 3. can’t hear 4. can speak
7. He can translate it. 8.
5. can’t sleep
Can you stand on your hand? I could when I was young but I can’t (/am not able to) now. I can’t remember her address, that’s why I don’t find her house. When the fog lifts we will be able to see where we are. I knew the town so I could advise him where to go. At the age of 5 she could read quite well. The swimmer was very tired but he was able to (/could) reach the shore before he collapsed. Can your brother drive a car? He’s very strong. He is able to (/can) lift anything. I could ride a bicycle when I was only three. When he was young, he could (/was able to) run very fast. He’s very handy. He can do anything around the house. The adder is the only British snake that can (/is able to) kill a man. I’ve forgotten my key. So I am not able (/can’t) come in. By means of X-rays, scientists could demonstrate that King Arthur’s round table was actually made in 1330. He’d be hopeless as a managing director. He is not able to (/can’t) make up his mind about anything. He said there were five coins under the bed, but I’ve been looking for more than ten minutes and I wasn’t able to (/couldn’t) find only three. When the new wing at the hotel is built, they will be able to take more guests. They have been researching into that illness for years, but they haven’t been able to find out the cause of it. I couldn’t see the beginning of the film because we arrived too late. We can do a lot of things to help other people. He has tried a lot of times, but he hasn’t been able to give up smoking yet. I could win the race because all my team helped me a lot. I haven’t been able to go on holiday since I started working here. I couldn’t go to Mary’s wedding because I had to work. When I finish my diet, I will be able to eat sweets again. I couldn’t / can’t open the door. I left my keys in the office. When the snow on the road was cleared up, we were able to (/could) continue our journey.
5) 1. Tom can drive but he doesn’t have (/hasn’t got) a car. 2. I don’t know the boy’s name so I can’t speak about him. 3. Carol’s grandfather is seventy years old. When he was young he had a lot of friends and he could (/was able) to run the Marathon. Now he is not able to run so much but he is able to (can) swim and he still has a lot of friends. 4. We were in the office all the evening. We had a lot of work and we couldn’t (weren’t able to) finish work before 8 p.m. 5. I’m not able to lift this suitcase because it’s very heavy. 6. I’m not able to think in this noise.
7. 8. 9. 10.
Peter could climb trees at the age of seven. Why weren’t you able to open the door? I know that you won’t be able to answer. I haven’t been able to finish this letter for an hour.
