| Element | USE: ABILITY |
|---|---|
| SuperCat | MODALITY |
| SubCat | could |
| Lexical Range | N/A |
| Level | B1 |
| Cando | Can use the affirmative form of 'could' to talk about ability. |
| Corrected Learner Example | ? she could hear a man talking, he was giving her orders? (Spanish - Latin American, B1 THRESHOLD, Pass, 2008) |
| Uncorrected Learner Example | |
| Comments | In both the NS data and the learner data, past ability with affirmative 'could' is relatively low freq. The negative form 'couldn?t' for (in)ability is much more common. |
