Let us learn how to talk about ability in a negative sense.
Before we learn talking about inability, let us be clear of what is inability. The lack of strength, power or ability to do something is inability.
‘Can + not’ | how to talk about ability in a negative sense
We use the negative form of ‘can’, that is adding negation ‘not’ to can, we will be able to talk about ability in a negative sense. It talks about lack of ability to do some action or to be in a state of lacking power to do something.
Let us look at some examples, many of us are able to talk about ability in a negative sense though.
Examples:
1. I cannot speak Japanese.
2. Some birds cannot swim.
3. Low esteemed people cannot succeed in life.
Use of ‘be unable to’ to talk about ability in a negative sense | Learn talking about inability
We also use ‘be unable to’ form to talk about ability in a negative sense. As we already discussed about BE forms, we use ‘am unable to’, ‘is unable to’ or ‘are unable to’ depending on the subject.
Examples with ‘be unable to’ form.
1. I am unable to see it.
2. He is unable to understand us.
3. She is unable to climb the stairs.
4. We are unable to trace the address.
5. They are unable to find a suitable match for their daughter.
We also use ‘be not able to’ form to talk about ability in a negative sense.
Examples with ‘be not able to’ form
1. I am not able to prepare that dish.
2. He is not able to reach the top.
3. She is not able to sing that song.
4. We are not able to delete this app.
5. They are not able to attend the meeting.
‘Be not able to’ form is too formal. Generally, we use ‘cannot’ instead.
But, ‘Cannot’ may talk about the lack of ability in present or future. As we have learnt how to talk about ability in future using ‘will be able to’, here, we use ‘will not be able to’ to talk about inability in future tense.
Examples with ‘will not be able to’ and ‘will be unable to’
1. He started late so he will not be able to reach in time.
Remember, we can use a contracted form of will + not, that is “won’t” to make it ‘won’t be able to’ instead of ‘will not be able to’.
2. I won’t be able to talk to them.
3. He won’t be able to recall it.
4. She won’t be able to attend your wedding.
5. We won’t be able to finalise it today.
6. They won’t be able to fix it.
Past ability in a negative sense | Learn talking about inability.
Let us now look at the ways to talk about inability in the past. We use “could + not = couldn’t”, ” was not able to/was unable to” or “were not able to/were unable to” to talk about past inability.
Examples with “couldn’t”
1. I couldn’t manage to get the tickets.
2. He couldn’t understand the importance of this issue.
3. She couldn’t follow the instructions.
4. We couldn’t meet then.
5. They couldn’t catch the flight.
Examples with ‘was not able to/were not able to’
1. I was not able to climb the peak.
2. He was not able to make the ends meet.
3. She was not able to cook it properly.
4. We were not able to attend the Birthday party.
5. They were not able to realise the fact.
Examples with ‘was unable to/were unable to’
1. I was unable to understand.
2. He was unable to reach in time.
3. She was unable to express it clearly.
4. We were unable to get out of it.
5. They were unable to convince me.
So, guys, hope you have got an idea of how to talk about ability in a negative sense.
Till the time we meet again with a new blog….
Take care and bye!
May you like: How to talk about ‘ability’? | Learn about ‘ability’
May you like: Learning about ‘past ability’ | How to talk about ‘ability’ in the past?
