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MODALS OF ABILITY

Can, Can't, Could, Couldn't and Be able to.

We use "can and can’t" to talk about someone’s general abilities.

We use "can" to talk about the ability to do something at a given time in the present or in the future.

We use "could" to talk about a skill in the past.

We used "could + have + past participle" to say that someone had the ability/opportunity to do something, but did not.

PERFECT AND FUTURE = ABLE TO

We can use "can and could" with all five senses.

We use "able to" when it needs a more formal sense.

We use "was/were" when we talk about something someone managed to do.

When we talk about skill we use "can" in the present and "could" in the past.

For perfect and future times we use "able to".

We do not use "able to" in continuous forms.