Can,Could,be able to & Manage to

Can, Could, be able to & Manage to.

We use the following verbs to talk about abilities.

Present: Can, Can't, be able to, manage to.

Past: Could, Couldn't, be able to, manage to.

Perfect: been able to, manage to.

Future: be able to, manage to.

("Can and Could")

It is more common to use "Can/Could " to talk about general ability in the present and past than be able to.

Example:

1. Can you remember much about it? = (Are you able to remember?). 

2. He could speak French and Italian, he couldn't remember name.

("Couldn't, was, wasn't, were, weren't and able to")

To talk about ability on one specific occasion in the past we use couldn't, was, wasn't, were, weren't, able to, but not Could.

Example:

1. The police were able to find out that he could speak French and Italian. (Not, The police could find out)

2. He couldn't remember who he was.

("Manage to")

We sometimes use ("Manage to") to show that something is difficult to achieve.

Example:

1. I have finally managed to give up smoking after all these years.

("be able to and Manage to")

We use be able to or Manage to with perfect or future forms.

Example:

1. Apparently he has been able to find his family.

2. Within a year he'll probably manage to remember quite a lot.