احدى الكتب الخارجيه يقول
Each one is happy today, isn't he?
مارأيكم فى هذه الجمله؟
كمان ماهو الفرق الجوهرى بين could و was/were able to للتعبير عن القدره فى الماضى؟

Each one is happy today, aren't they?

السلام عليكم
every one - evrery body some one , some body........
يعامل معها الفعل معاملة المفرد والضميرمعاملة الجمع
Everey one is good at their work.

could تعبر عن القدرة في الماضي بوجه عام وليس حادث معين
When I was young , Icould ride a bike.
was able to
تعبر عن القدرة في الماض ولكن مع حادث معين
Last week my car broke down bu I could repair it.
English Lovers series
الحمد لله

It can go both ways
aren't they or isn't he
this item of information is included in the book Practical English Usage

We can say (isn't he or aren't the) both of them are correct .

ده رد منقول من محرر long man واتمني الفائده للجميع وتحياتي للرائع مستر عصام

These answers are based on The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language and the corpus-based Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English.

Each one is syntactically singular and would usually take a singular pronoun in a tag question. Thus, if the sentence were
Each one of the boys is absent, isn’t he? or Each one of the apples is rotten, isn’t it? there would be no problem of agreement.

A problem arises because in modern English there is a strong tendency to avoid what is seen as ***ist language. Many people no longer see he as a ***-neutral pronoun.

The pronoun they has been used with a singular meaning since Middle English and is commonly used this way in informal language. However, many people still avoid such use in formal language.

Tag questions are more common in informal language than formal, so therefore, if I had to choose between these two, I would choose the second one: Each one of them is absent, aren’t they?

But in real life I don’t think I would say such a sentence to begin with. I would be more likely to say They’re all absent, aren’t they? and thus avoid the whole issue of agreement.

ده رد منقول من محرر long man واتمني الفائده للجميع وتحياتي للرائع مستر عصام

These answers are based on The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language and the corpus-based Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English.

Each one is syntactically singular and would usually take a singular pronoun in a tag question. Thus, if the sentence were
Each one of the boys is absent, isn’t he? or Each one of the apples is rotten, isn’t it? there would be no problem of agreement.

A problem arises because in modern English there is a strong tendency to avoid what is seen as ***ist language. Many people no longer see he as a ***-neutral pronoun.

The pronoun they has been used with a singular meaning since Middle English and is commonly used this way in informal language. However, many people still avoid such use in formal language.

Tag questions are more common in informal language than formal, so therefore, if I had to choose between these two, I would choose the second one: Each one of them is absent, aren’t they?

But in real life I don’t think I would say such a sentence to begin with. I would be more likely to say They’re all absent, aren’t they? and thus avoid the whole issue of agreement.




يامستر انت اللى رائع بجد صراحه انت افدتنى جدا بهذه المعلومات القيمه
يعنى انا عن نفسى اللغه عندى تزوق وعشان كد انا حاسس ان الافضل انى اقول Each one is happy, aren't they
ياريت كمان يامستر تدخل على الموقع وتجيب الفرق بين could و was able to
وطبعا اوجه شكرى لكل الاخوه الذين دخلوا وابدوا ارائهم القيمه

Without logging on longman site I didn't comment on (was able to -could ) because mr hamada sabra answered it

Without logging on longman site I didn't comment on (was able to -could ) because mr hamada sabra answered it

Mr Hamada didn't show us how to use "was/ were able to". I know what Mr Hamda wrote about the difference between "could" and"was/were able to. I just want an authentic reference

اعتقد ان able to تعبر عن الإستطاعة مع وجود صعوبة او عائق
أما الاولي تعبر عن الاستطاعة بوجه عام ولا يشترط وجود صعوبة



وعندي سؤالين.........
الفرق بين interesting/exciting
هل يجوز استخدام just / already في السؤال

فعلا كما قال mr Hamdi
could تعبر عن السهولة في فعل الحدث اما was able to تعبر على صعوبة الحدث وهناك ادلة كثيرة على ذلك ففي قصة the Mask of Gold , وبالتحديد في chapter 7 عندما واجهت ليلى "مارتن " قالت at last i was able to speak
وشكرا لكم جميعا
r abdu

السلام عليكم
every one - evrery body some one , some body........
يعامل معها الفعل معاملة المفرد والضميرمعاملة الجمع
Everey one is good at their work.

could تعبر عن القدرة في الماضي بوجه عام وليس حادث معين
When I was young , Icould ride a bike.
was able to
تعبر عن القدرة في الماض ولكن مع حادث معين
Last week my car broke down bu I could repair it.
English Lovers series

الحمد لله

everyone /"ev.ri.wVn/ pronoun (ALSO everybody)
every person:
Would everyone who wishes to attend the dinner let me know by Friday afternoon?
Everyone has their own ideas about the best way to bring up children.
I've received replies from everybody but Jane.
Do you agree with the principle that everyone should pay something towards the cost of health care?
Everyone knows who stole it, but they're all afraid to tell anyone.
Everyone involved in the accident has been questioned by the police.
Goodbye, everybody - I'll see you next week.
I'm sorry, but you'll just have to wait your turn like everybody else.




This is a quotation from cambridge advanced learners , dictionary in which I highlited the sentence in which the pronoun every one tales singular verb has and plural pronoun their .
As to the subject verb agreement in the tag question I agree with Mr Morris
As to Mr Esam you didn't reqest authentic information but you asked for a discussion . It is supposed that any teacher who dicusses a linguistic issue to talk depending on authentic information .

comment on could and was able to comes from essential gramma in use but I needn't refer to it . as it is kept My into my memory .

Mr Hamada didn't show us how to use "was/ were able to". I know what Mr Hamda wrote about the difference between "could" and"was/were able to. I just want an authentic reference


Mr Esam you asked only to know the difference between was able to and could .But if you need to have much information about was able to here it is:


Could can be used in many different ways, to ask for permission, to make a request or to express ability when referring to the past. Was able to is sometimes used as an alternative to could when we are discussing ability or possibility. We tend to use could when we are talking about ability generally. Compare the following:

By the time she was seven, she could already speak three languages.
She started the viola at the age of eight and after only six months she could play it quite well.
Her brother Jack was an excellent swimmer. He could beat anybody in his class.

was able to / managed to

We tend to use was able to or managed to if we are talking about what happened in a particular situation or are referring to a specific achievement:

Were you able to / Did you manage to speak to him before he left home?

~ No, I'm sorry, I wasn't able to / didn't manage to reach him.
The fog came down and I wasn't able to / didn't manage to get to the top of the mountain.
My brother wanted to carry on, but we managed to / were able to talk him out of it.
However, with verbs that refer to the five senses, see, hear, smell, feel, taste, and with verbs that refer to thought processes, understand, believe, remember, decide, we normally use could, even when we are talking about specific occasions:

He was standing very close to me and I could smell the garlic on his breath.
He asked me when Julie's birthday was, but I couldn't remember.
I couldn't decide whether to ask him for a lift or not.


unable to / not succeed in

Note that unable to is an alternative negative form of not able to and succeed in is a slightly more formal alternative to manage to. But remember that succeed in is followed by verb + ing, rather than verb + infinitive:

We were unable to leave the room until the locksmith arrived and succeeded in unlocking the door.
I was unable to complete the report as several pieces of information were missing.
Having obtained them, I succeeded in completing it after a further two days.
be able to


Note that can has no infinitive form, no -ing form, no perfect form and no future form. It cannot follow another modal auxiliary verb. On all of these occasions, we have to use be able to instead. Compare the following:

I'd like to be able to swim like Jack. He swims like a fish.
When I'm at the sea-side, I enjoy being able to take a swim every morning.
Unfortunately, Jack hasn't been able to swim since his accident.

Lets' hope he'll be able to resume his daily swimming training soon.
I'm not a member, but can I swim in this pool? ~ Why don't you speak to the secretary? She may / might / should be able to help you.


manage = succeed / cope

We use the verbs manage to and manage a great deal in current English when we want to say that we are able to cope with a difficult situation or find time for a particular task. Compare the following:

It was very icy, but I managed to keep the car on the road.
Veronica was very upset when Ben left her, but she managed to smile nevertheless.
She didn't really want to go to Mexico, but Tony managed to persuade her somehow.
Can you help me put up my new shed? ~ I can manage a few hours in the morning, but I'm busy in the afternoon.
This is an ideal job for those who can only manage a few hours each week.
Can I give you a hand with that? ~ No, it's all right. I'll manage./ I can

manage
Thanks Mr Moris

A thousand thanks, Mr Hamada

I have nothing to say or write but thank you all for enriching us with valuable information .
I'd like to appreciate your efforts mr.Essam and mr.Hamada
Thank you all for doing a good job

Could can be used in many different ways, to ask for permission, to make a request or to express ability when referring to the past. Was able to is sometimes used as an alternative to could when we are discussing ability or possibility. We tend to use could when we are talking about ability generally. Compare the following:

By the time she was seven, she could already speak three languages.
She started the viola at the age of eight and after only six months she could play it quite well.
Her brother Jack was an excellent swimmer. He could beat anybody in his class.


was able to / managed to



We tend to use was able to or managed to if we are talking about what happened in a particular situation or are referring to a specific achievement:

Were you able to / Did you manage to speak to him before he left home?



~ No, I'm sorry, I wasn't able to / didn't manage to reach him.
The fog came down and I wasn't able to / didn't manage to get to the top of the mountain.
My brother wanted to carry on, but we managed to / were able to talk him out of it.
However, with verbs that refer to the five senses, see, hear, smell, feel, taste, and with verbs that refer to thought processes, understand, believe, remember, decide, we normally use could, even when we are talking about specific occasions:

He was standing very close to me and I could smell the garlic on his breath.
He asked me when Julie's birthday was, but I couldn't remember.
I couldn't decide whether to ask him for a lift or not.


unable to / not succeed in



Note that unable to is an alternative negative form of not able to and succeed in is a slightly more formal alternative to manage to. But remember that succeed in is followed by verb + ing, rather than verb + infinitive:

We were unable to leave the room until the locksmith arrived and succeeded in unlocking the door.
I was unable to complete the report as several pieces of information were missing.
Having obtained them, I succeeded in completing it after a further two days.
be able to




Note that can has no infinitive form, no -ing form, no perfect form and no future form. It cannot follow another modal auxiliary verb. On all of these occasions, we have to use be able to instead. Compare the following:

I'd like to be able to swim like Jack. He swims like a fish.
When I'm at the sea-side, I enjoy being able to take a swim every morning.
Unfortunately, Jack hasn't been able to swim since his accident.


Lets' hope he'll be able to resume his daily swimming training soon.


I'm not a member, but can I swim in this pool? ~ Why don't you speak to the secretary? She may / might / should be able to help you.


manage = succeed / cope



We use the verbs manage to and manage a great deal in current English when we want to say that we are able to cope with a difficult situation or find time for a particular task. Compare the following:

It was very icy, but I managed to keep the car on the road.
Veronica was very upset when Ben left her, but she managed to smile nevertheless.
She didn't really want to go to Mexico, but Tony managed to persuade her somehow.
Can you help me put up my new shed? ~ I can manage a few hours in the morning, but I'm busy in the afternoon.
This is an ideal job for those who can only manage a few hours each week.
Can I give you a hand with that? ~ No, it's all right. I'll manage./ I can

رائع يا مستر حماده بالفعل انا استفدت كتييييييييييييييييييييييييير

Each one is happy today, isn't he- they ( both are right)

اتفق مع ما يقول ان could تستخدم فى الماضى بدون صعوبات
اما was/were able to تستخدم م مواجهة الصعوبات

Thanks Mr Hamada .You are fantastic . Sameh