could / was able to

[8769]

For both of the blanks #1 and #2 below, some of my friends say (b)"was able to" is appropriate, while (a)"could" is not.

1. In spite of a traffic jam, I ( ) get to the airport in time yesterday.
2. When I was in London last week, I ( ) see my favorite musical.

(a) could
(b) was able to

I understand the following sentence is not natural.
*I "could" pass the driving test yesterday.
But for #1 and #2 above somehow I feel (a)"could" is also appropriate.

What do you think?

 

[PaulQ]

"could" = "would be able to"

"Would be able to" does not fit into either of the sentences you gave because it expresses a conditional future.

"If I looked over the fence I could/would be able to see the dog."

 

[rapozok]

"Could" implies that it's possible, given certain circumstances. These sentences have "if" in them.
ex: You could probably get to the office by noon IF you left now.

"was able to" - Whatever action being described has already happened. Whatever COULD have happened, has happened.
ex: I was able to get the office on time because I left when you told me to.

 

[se16teddy]

Did you in fact get to the airport/see the musical, or did it remain only a possibility? If you did get to the airport/see the musical, I would use neither could nor was able, both of which imply a possibility that it did not happen.
1. In spite of a traffic jam, I got to the airport in time yesterday.
2. When I was in London last week, I saw my favorite musical.

 

[rapozok]

The way se16teddy re-wrote the sentences is just fine, but I feel like it is just as common to use "was able to" for these sentences (especially in writing).

 

[entangledbank]

'Was able to' is used similarly to 'managed to' or 'succeeded in' - not only did you do it, but there was an element of doubt about whether you would.

Fortunately I was able to / managed to get to the airport before fog grounded flights.
I was able to / managed to see the show before it closed.

'Could' has such a strong conditional flavour that it's rare to see it used as a plain past tense meaning 'was able'. The example I use where it can be used this way is this:

I can't do today's crossword, but I could do yesterday's. (The contrast favours the can/could pairing; I wouldn't use 'was able to' here.)

 

[wolfbm1]

'Could' has such a strong conditional flavour that it's rare to see it used as a plain past tense meaning 'was able'.

This conditional flavour is evident when you compare:
You will be able to pass the road test tomorrow (I can see that).
You could pass the road test tomorrow (if you were lucky).

 

[Pertinax]

You can't say:
When I was in London last week, I could see my favorite musical.

But if by "could" you meant that you had the intrinsic ability to perform the action, then you could readily use "could" to mean "was able to". E.g.:
I'm fairly fit. When I was in London last week, I could do ten laps around Hyde Park.

 

[taraa]

'Was able to' is used similarly to 'managed to' or 'succeeded in' - not only did you do it, but there was an element of doubt about whether you would.

Fortunately I was able to / managed to get to the airport before fog grounded flights.
I was able to / managed to see the show before it closed.

'Could' has such a strong conditional flavour that it's rare to see it used as a plain past tense meaning 'was able'. The example I use where it can be used this way is this:

I can't do today's crossword, but I could do yesterday's. (The contrast favours the can/could pairing; I wouldn't use 'was able to' here.)

Can you please explain why "could" is correct in the sentence below? Shouldn't it be "was able to"?
"I'm glad I could help."

 

[Myridon]

Can you please explain why "could" is correct in the sentence below? Shouldn't it be "was able to"?
"I'm glad I could help."

There are two things that you could mean in that context.
1) "I'm glad it was possible for me to help." which is "I'm glad that could help."
2) "I'm glad that I managed to help." which is "I'm glad that I was able to help."
Both sentences are appropriate. I am glad that I helped you and that my help was successful.

 

[taraa]

There are two things that you could mean in that context.
1) "I'm glad it was possible for me to help." which is "I'm glad that could help."
2) "I'm glad that I managed to help." which is "I'm glad that I was able to help."
Both sentences are appropriate. I am glad that I helped you and that my help was successful.

If we meant #2, shouldn't we use "was able to" instead of "could" since we should use "could" for general abilities in the past not for a specific situation?

 

[Myridon]

If we meant #2, shouldn't we use "was able to" instead of "could" since we should use "could" for general abilities in the past not for a specific situation?

If you meant only and exactly 2, you should say "was able to". However, the two sentences are very close in meaning and you are probably glad of both things so it doesn't matter which you say. It's very unlikely that you succeeded in helping someone without being able to and it's very unlikely that you are that you are glad that your attempt at help failed.

 

[taraa]

If you meant only and exactly 2, you should say "was able to". However, the two sentences are very close in meaning and you are probably glad of both things so it doesn't matter which you say. It's very unlikely that you succeeded in helping someone without being able to and it's very unlikely that you are that you are glad that your attempt at help failed.

Thanks a lot!