【英国问答】unable和can't的用法(1/3)
could you please clarify my doubt about where to use unable to and can't.
Thank you sir.
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英式拼法，全部不加双引号
http://t1.g.hjfile.cn/listen/201302/201302081142376367747.mp3Hello, thanks for the question. Can and be able to are both used to talk about ability. Sometimes they're interchangeable, but sometimes they're not.
So, let's start by looking at your examples. You've asked about can't and unable to. Well, we use can't in the present tense when we say that we don't have the ability to do something. For example, I can't swim. We could also say I am unable to swim, and the meaning would be pretty much the same. But which one do we choose? Well, for informal English, and for spoken English in particular, people tend to use can or can't. Able to seems a bit more formal and not really appropriate for everyday situations.
Now the past of can is could, and the past of be able to is was able to or were able to. For example, we can say I could swim or I couldn't swim when I was seven years old or we can say, I was able to swim, or I was unable to swim when I was seven years old.
Again, in spoken English, we'd probably use could or couldn't to talk about past ability or lack of ability.
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