Being able to talk about what you can do and cannot do is a core part of English grammar and everyday communication. Students often learn the modal verb can, but English offers many other useful expressions to talk about ability, skills, difficulty, and success.
In this lesson, you’ll learn different ways to express ability in English, with clear explanations and examples. This guide is ideal for ESL students, EFL learners, and middle school English language arts (ELA) classrooms.
Expressing Ability in English (Grammar Overview)
Ability in English refers to what a person is capable of doing. We express ability using:
- Modal verbs (can, could)
- Verb phrases (be able to, manage to)
- Adjectives + prepositions (good at, bad at)
- Common ESL expressions
These structures are frequently taught in ESL grammar lessons, reading comprehension texts, and writing activities.
1. How to Talk About Things You Can Do
Use these expressions when you want to describe skills, talents, or successful actions.
Common Ways to Express Ability
🔹 Be good at (doing something)
Used to talk about skills and talents.
- She is very good at encouraging people.
- He’s really good at solving math problems.
📌 ELA keyword focus: be good at grammar, English skills
🔹 Be able to + verb
Used to express ability in the present, past, or future.
- I was able to give a good performance.
- She will be able to finish the assignment.
📌 Common in ESL grammar worksheets
🔹 Know how to + verb
Used when you have learned a skill.
- He knows how to do amazing tricks.
- Students know how to write a paragraph.
📌 Important for writing skills and procedural texts
🔹 Find something easy to do
Used when an activity is not difficult.
- I found the lesson quite easy to understand.
- She finds reading comprehension easy.
🔹 Manage to + verb
Used for something difficult but successful.
- I managed to finish the test on time.
- He managed to understand the passage.
📌 Grammar tip:
We use manage to when effort is required.
2. How to Talk About Things You Cannot Do
These expressions help students describe difficulty, lack of skill, or failure.
Common Ways to Express Inability
🔹 Not have a clue how to + verb
- I didn’t have a clue how to write an essay.
🔹 Find something impossible to do
- I found it impossible to concentrate in class.
🔹 Be useless at (doing something)
- I was useless at spelling when I was younger.
🔹 Have no idea how to + verb
- She has no idea how to solve the problem.
🔹 Be no good at (doing something)
- I’m no good at public speaking.
🔹 Not be able to + verb
- He wasn’t able to answer the questions.
📌 Frequently used in student writing and personal narratives
3. Adjectives to Describe Ability (Vocabulary for ESL & ELA)
Positive Ability Words
- brilliant at
- great at
- excellent at
- not bad at
Example:
- She’s excellent at writing stories.
Negative Ability Words
- hopeless at
- bad at
- terrible at
- awful at
- rubbish at
Example:
- He’s terrible at remembering vocabulary.
📌 Useful for descriptive writing and opinion paragraphs
4. Grammar Patterns for Expressing Ability
🔹 Modal verbs (no “to”)
- can / could
- (not) be able to
Example:
- She can read fluently.
- He couldn’t understand the text.
🔹 Verb + infinitive with to
- know how to
- manage to
- find something easy / impossible to do
- have no idea how to
🔹 Verb + -ing
- be good at
- be useless at
- be no good at
Example:
- She’s good at speaking English.
5. Using Nouns and Pronouns After “At”
You can use nouns or pronouns after these expressions.
- Tim is hopeless at tennis, but Ian is brilliant at it.
📌 Common in spoken English and dialogue writing
Final Tips for Students and Teachers
✔ Don’t rely only on can and can’t
✔ Use varied expressions in writing and speaking
✔ Practice through sentences, paragraphs, and reading comprehension
