PAST ABILITIES

To talk about past abilities, we can use:

COULD

Used to talk about general skills or abilities in the past.

When I first started my career, I could work long hours without a break.

They hired her because they knew that she could do the job well.

At this time last year, Santiago couldn’t speak English.

WAS/WERE ABLE TO

Used to talk about specific achievements.

I called our IT help desk and they were able to resolve the issue.

Were you able to get in touch with Gary?

Kathy wasn’t able to get here on time because of the accident on the highway.

(Note that in the negative form, we can use couldn’t and was/were able to. For this example, we could also say “Kathy couldn’t get here on time because of the accident on the highway.”)

MANAGED TO/SUCCEEDED IN 

Used to talk about specific achievements that were difficult.

No one thought she had a chance to win the race but somehow she managed to get enough votes and win the election.

When Carla quit without giving notice it was difficult for us, but we managed to handle everything.

How did they manage to find a suitable candidate for the position in such short time?