be able to

[Metamorfose]

From another forum I take part:


You could have asked me out yesterday. I know I was sick last week, but I was able to go out last night.

I know the canonical (right?) question would go I could have gone out last night or something like that, but what do you say about this I was able to go out last night? Is it possible?

Regards

José

[ouyang]

It is certainly acceptable American English. It's a typical combination of verb tenses for us.

[Metamorfose]

Thank you.

Now -- and I forgot to ask in the original post-- how does one interprete this specific interpolation of tenses?

best

José

[ouyang]

Well, one issue in explaining this combination of tenses is the classification of the phrase "was able to go out". I classify forms of "be able to" as phrasal modal verbs. They are usually synonymous with the modal "can". Some grammars classify "able to go out" as an adjective phrase. Compare "happy to go out", "willing to go out" and "capable of going out".

I would tell my students that the first sentence establishes a context of the past conditional aspect. The following compound sentence contrasts the simple past with the past conditional. A simpler explanation is that the simple past is being contrasted with the simple past.

Past Conditional. Simple Present [Simple Past], Past Conditional.
could have asked. know [was], was able to go out
Past Conditional. Simple Present [Simple Past], Simple Past

We often contrast the simple past with the past conditional. "He didn't help us, but he could have." Some might argue that my classification of all modal aspects as conditional aspects is an over-simplification. Other teachers on this forum have read more about them than I have.

My policy is to use the phrasal modal classification for all predicate verbs. However, in verbal phrases, I sometimes employ the adjective phrase classification.