Sign up for freeSign up

Twelve seconds in the air: could and couldn't for past ability

This A2 ESL lesson plan practices could and couldn't for past ability through the Wright brothers' first powered flight.

Grammar
Could and couldn't + base verb for every person (They could glide.), questions and short answers (Could you swim at five? Yes, I could.), and can versus could.
Topic
The Wright brothers' first powered flight on December 17, 1903, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, with words such as glide, propeller and pilot.
Activities
A notice at the national memorial, a talk with a park ranger, a grandpa's kite challenge, self-checking drills, a flight-quiz chat, a wheel of flying questions and boxes about childhood.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Up in the air!

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: up in the airVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and chooseChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: the first flight

    • Look at the picture: the Wright FlyerPictureUnlock
    • Read the notice at the memorialReal-life documentTry it
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the right answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: come back, Biscuit!

    • Listen to Marco and Ranger MaeListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the right answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to Grandpa's challengeListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: they could fly

    • Study the scheme: could and couldn'tGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the right wordChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: could (✓) or couldn't (✗) + verbFill in the gapsTry it
    • Fill in the table: today and in 1903Fill in the tableUnlock
    • Choose the right sentenceQuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: I could, I couldn't

    • Choose the right replies: Nora's flight quizChatTry it
    • Open a box and answer: I could, I couldn'tOpen the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Unscramble the words: up in the airAnagramUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps about past abilityFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Choose the right word: can or could?Choose the optionUnlock
    • Put the words in the right orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Choose the right answer: questions and short answersQuizUnlock
    • Read Marco's postcard and choose the right wordsChoose the optionUnlock

29 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Vocabulary

10 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+7 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • kite
  • wing
  • propeller
  • pilot
  • coin
  • lighthouse
  • memorial

Grammar: could and couldn't for past ability

Could is the past of can when we talk about ability: what someone was able to do back then. Through the Wright brothers' gliders and their 1903 Flyer, learners put the base verb after could or couldn't, ask Could you…? with short answers, and switch back to can for today.

They could glide. They couldn't fly with an engine.

could = can in the past. couldn't (could not) = can't in the past.

Could + base verb, the same for everyone

Could and couldn't (could not) keep one form for I, she, they and everyone else. No to and no past form follow them: They could glide. People couldn't fly before 1903. Ages fit well: I could swim at six. I couldn't read at three.

could + verb

I / you / he / she / it / we / theycould / couldn'tverb (base form)

The brothers could glide.

People couldn't fly before 1903.

The same for every person

Who✓ could✗ couldn't
II could swim at six.I couldn't read at three.
youYou could walk at two.You couldn't drive at ten.
heHe could ride a bike at five.He couldn't swim at five.
sheShe could dance at four.She couldn't cook at four.
itIn 1903, it (the Flyer) could fly.It couldn't stay in the air for long.
weWe could see the sea from the dune.We couldn't see the horses.
theyThey could glide before 1903.They couldn't fly with an engine.

Could you…? Yes, I could.

A question starts with Could, with no did: Could you swim at five? Could they steer the Flyer? The short answer ends with could or couldn't: Yes, they could. No, he couldn't.

Question✓ Yes✗ No
Could you swim at five?Yes, I could.No, I couldn't.
Could they steer the Flyer?Yes, they could.No, they couldn't.
Could Biscuit catch the kite?Yes, he could.No, he couldn't.

Can now, could then

Can is for ability now, could for ability in the past: Today, big planes can fly for hours, but in 1903, the Flyer could fly for only 59 seconds. A past time word calls for could: before 1903, at five, last summer.

now: can / can't

  • Today, big planes can fly for hours.
  • I can't fly a plane.
  • Can you swim? – Yes, I can.

in the past: could / couldn't

  • In 1903, the Flyer could fly for only 59 seconds.
  • Before 1903, people couldn't fly with an engine.
  • Could you swim at five? – Yes, I could.

No to, no -ed, no did

After could and couldn't, use the base form of the verb (fly, go, see): They could fly. (Not: could to fly, could flew, couldn't flied.) Don't use did with could: He couldn't fly. (Not: He didn't could fly.) Could they steer? (Not: Did they could steer?)

Common mistakes

  • They could to fly.

    They could fly.

    no to after could

  • They could flew. They couldn't flied.

    They could fly. They couldn't fly.

    could / couldn't + the base form

  • He didn't could fly.

    He couldn't fly.

    no did: couldn't

  • Did they could steer?

    Could they steer?

    questions: Could + who + verb

More lessons on this grammar: Modal verbs lessons and exercises

Try the could and couldn't exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 16 auto-checked exercises
  • 4 games
  • 1 real-life document
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • say what people could and couldn't do in the past: The brothers could glide. They couldn't fly with an engine yet.
  • ask and answer with could: Could you swim at five? Yes, I could. No, I couldn't.
  • choose can for now and could for the past: Today, big planes can fly for hours. In 1903, the Flyer could fly for only 59 seconds.
  • talk about their own childhood: At five, I could swim, but I couldn't ride a bike.

Lesson 8 ends the unit American firsts in English A2.1 · Then and Now. It builds on can and can't for ability from A1.1 lessons 29 and 30, where students talked about hobbies and sports, and moves them into the past. Three years of gliders before a twelve-second engine flight give both forms a job: the brothers could glide, but they couldn't fly with an engine yet.

Students spin a wheel of questions about planes, kites and windy beaches, then learn ten words, from glide and land to propeller and lighthouse, with pictures and audio. They read a notice at the Wright Brothers National Memorial in North Carolina, from the coin toss on December 14 to the four flights on December 17, and answer true-or-false and multiple-choice questions. Two AI-voiced listenings follow: Marco with a park ranger on the dunes, and Grandpa's kite challenge. After the scheme come four exercises that check themselves, among them a table that turns today into 1903. In the speaking chapter, students take Nora's flight quiz in a chat, then open boxes about what they could and couldn't do as kids.

Eight homework tasks follow, each checked automatically: a word match, an anagram and a drag-and-drop for the vocabulary, gap-fills about past ability, a choice of can or could, word order, a quiz on short answers, and Marco's postcard with words to choose.

Grammar:
could / couldn't · past ability · Could you…? Yes, I could. · can and could
Topic:
the Wright brothers · the first flight · Kitty Hawk · North Carolina · the Outer Banks · Grandpa's Map

Teaching tips

  • Start with a twelve-second challenge: time twelve seconds on a phone and ask what students can do in that time, as one open box does, then what they could do at five: At five, I could count to ten.
  • Build a class timeline of skills: each student adds one thing they could do at an age, such as I could ride a bike at seven, and the class reads it back with he or she.
  • Catch didn't could early: put He didn't could fly and Did they could steer? on the board, and let students fix both before the drills.
  • Turn the today-and-1903 table into a team quiz: read a sentence about today, such as People can send text messages, and teams give the 1903 version: People could send telegrams.

Liked it?

Teach the whole lesson in edio

29 exercises in 6 chapters, ready to teach. edio is an online platform for language schools and teachers: ready-made interactive lessons, live classes, homework and student progress in one place.

  1. Start a free trial

    7 days, no credit card.

  2. Open the lesson

    Find it in the library of 621 ready lessons. Teach it as it is, or copy any chapter into your own lessons.

  3. Teach it live or as homework

    Students work in their own accounts, in sync with you during the lesson, and the practice exercises check themselves.

Teach it free for 7 days

The whole course: English A2.1 · Then and Now

32 lessons for adults at A2 in simple American English, from the past simple to going to, should and might. Eight units tell stories of journeys, American firsts, food, places, sports, music, neighbors and dreams. Pictures and definitions replace translations, and the practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Amazing journeys

    the past simple, regular and irregular verbs, negatives, prepositions of movement

    1. Lesson 1Around the world in 72 daysThe past simple of regular verbs
    2. Lesson 2The first drive across AmericaIrregular verbs in the past simple
    3. Lesson 3Get your kicks on Route 66Past simple negatives with didn't
    4. Lesson 4She walked 2,000 miles in sneakersPrepositions of movement

  2. Unit 2 American firsts

    was and were, past questions and short answers, ago and in, could for past ability

    1. Lesson 5The first American woman in spaceWas, were, there was and there were
    2. Lesson 6A real bug in the computerPast simple questions with did
    3. Lesson 7“Mr. Watson, come here”Wh- questions in the past simple
    4. Lesson 8 · you're hereTwelve seconds in the airCould and couldn't for past ability

  3. Unit 3 American food

    countable and uncountable nouns, comparatives, ordering food, a few and a little

    1. Lesson 9The first chocolate chip cookieCountable and uncountable nouns in a recipe
    2. Lesson 10Is a jalapeño hotter than a habanero?Comparatives of short adjectives
    3. Lesson 11Two eggs, sunny side up!Offers and orders with would like
    4. Lesson 12Cooking for twenty on ThanksgivingA few, a little and a lot of

  4. Unit 4 City or country?

    comparatives with more and less, superlatives, as … as, too and enough

    1. Lesson 13The island with no carsComparatives with more and less, plus better, worse and farther
    2. Lesson 14America's extremesSuperlatives with the + -est, the most and the least
    3. Lesson 15San Francisco or Yosemite? You choose!As … as for the same, not as … as for less
    4. Lesson 16A park on an old railroadToo, enough and not … enough

  5. Unit 5 Game on

    play, go and do with sports, going to, adverbs of manner, reflexive pronouns

    1. Lesson 17Basketball started with peach baskets?Play, go and do with sports
    2. Lesson 18What's going to happen at LA 2028?Be going to for plans and predictions
    3. Lesson 19Pickleball: a game from a backyardAdverbs of manner
    4. Lesson 20Be brave and tryReflexive pronouns and each other

  6. Unit 6 Music and nights out

    love, enjoy and hate + -ing, the present continuous for plans, suggestions, to for purpose

    1. Lesson 21Where jazz was bornGerunds after love, like, enjoy, hate and don't mind
    2. Lesson 22Music on every streetThe present continuous for future arrangements
    3. Lesson 23A night on BroadwaySuggestions with Let's, Why don't we and How about
    4. Lesson 24An orchestra for every kidThe infinitive of purpose and to or for

  7. Unit 7 Neighbors and community

    much and many, should, something and everyone, because and so

    1. Lesson 25Everybody cleans up!Much and many with nouns you can and can't count
    2. Lesson 26Good neighbors shovel snowShould and shouldn't + the base verb
    3. Lesson 27Take a book, leave a bookIndefinite pronouns with some-, any-, no- and every-
    4. Lesson 28A bench for making friendsBecause for reasons, so for results

  8. Unit 8 Plans and dreams

    verb + to, the present continuous vs going to, might, when, before and after

    1. Lesson 29Never give up: from farm fields to spaceVerb + to + the base form
    2. Lesson 30Across America by trainGoing to and the present continuous for the future
    3. Lesson 31Open in the year 6939Might and might not for possibility
    4. Lesson 32A college graduate at 95Time clauses with when, before and after

Questions about this lesson

How do you use couldn't in English?
Couldn't + a base verb says that someone wasn't able to do something in the past: At three, I couldn't read. Before 1903, people couldn't fly with an engine. It's short for could not, the same for every person, and it never takes to or did: He couldn't swim at five, not He didn't could swim. The short answer is No, I couldn't.
When do you use could instead of can?
For ability, use could for the past and can for now: Today, big planes can fly for hours. In 1903, the Flyer could fly for only 59 seconds. A past time word such as at five, last summer or before 1903 points to could. Could also makes a polite request, and that one is about now: Could you help me?
Is could the past tense of can?
Yes, when it means ability: I can swim today, and I could swim at six. In its other uses, could isn't about the past at all: Could you open the window? is a polite request, and It could rain is a guess about later. For past ability, the pair is simple: can now, could then, and can't becomes couldn't.
How do you use could and couldn't in questions?
Put Could first, then the subject and the base verb: Could you swim at five? Could they steer the Flyer? Answer with Yes, I could or No, I couldn't, never Yes, I did. Don't add did to the question either: Did they could steer? is wrong. In the chat of Twelve seconds in the air, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, students answer a flight quiz this way.
How do you talk about past ability in English?
Use could or couldn't with an age or past time: At five, I could swim, but I couldn't ride a bike. Last summer, I could see the ocean from my window. The form never changes, so she could and they could look the same. For skills you have now, go back to can: Now I can ride a bike.
What's the difference between could and was able to?
For general ability in the past, both could and was able to are right: At six, I could swim. At six, I was able to swim. For one success on one occasion, use was able to or the past simple, not could: The road was closed, but we were able to get home. In negatives, couldn't works for both: We couldn't see the lighthouse in the fog.
Is it "could fly" or "could to fly"?
It's could fly, with no to after could, and no past form either: They could glide, not They could to glide or They could glided. The same goes for couldn't: He couldn't swim, not He couldn't swam. Like can, could is a modal verb, so the verb after it is always the base form.
Is it "couldn't" or "didn't could"?
It's couldn't: could never takes did. He couldn't fly, not He didn't could fly. Questions work the same way: Could they steer?, not Did they could steer? Short answers end in could too: Yes, they could. No, I couldn't. A homework quiz in the A2 lesson Twelve seconds in the air on edio.ai offers Yes, she did could as a wrong answer.
How do I teach could and couldn't to A2 students?
Begin with can and add an age: I can swim now, I could swim at six. Ages make it personal, so let students say what they could and couldn't do at five before any drill. Then add questions with short answers, and finish with today against the past: Today, people can send text messages. In 1903, they couldn't. Twelve seconds in the air on edio.ai sets this up as a table of today and 1903.
What's a good game for practicing could and couldn't?
A childhood open-the-box game works well: each box asks something like At five, what could you do? or Before cell phones, what couldn't people do?, and the student answers aloud: At five, I could swim. People couldn't send photos. For groups, one student names a skill, and the others guess the age. This lesson's boxes also ask What can you do in 12 seconds?
What's good homework for practicing could and couldn't?
Self-checking drills that mix can and could make good homework, because students must read each time word first: Last summer, I could see the ocean, but Now I can swim. In Twelve seconds in the air on edio.ai, homework also has gap-fills about past ability, a short-answer quiz and a postcard with words to choose, all checked automatically.
Are there interactive exercises for could and couldn't?
Yes: ✓ and ✗ gap-fills and quiz chats check every answer as students go. This page plays four parts of Twelve seconds in the air, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, with no account: the notice at the Wright Brothers National Memorial, Marco's talk with a park ranger on the dunes, a gap-fill where ✓ means could and ✗ means couldn't, and Nora's flight quiz in a chat. Everything else is locked.
Unlock full lesson

Teach this lesson with your students

Book a demoStart free trial

No credit card required