Unit 7 Abilities

The woman

can smoke.

smoke

take an X-ray

a camera

— By the way, may I borrow your

camera? 顺便问一下— No problem. 没问题。

Do you know these sports?

I could not ride a horse at five. Now I can.

ride a horse

ride a bike

... could not ... now ... can ...

play tennis

... could not ... now ... can ...

swim / have a swim

... could not ... now ... can ...

fly a kite/ kites

... could not ... now ... can ...

ski

... could not ... now ... can ...

skate

... could not ... now ... can ...

Using “can”/ “could” to talk about ability.

1. We use “can” to talk about present ability.

We use “could” to talk about ability in the

past.

e.g. I can (cannot /can’t /can not) swim.

What about you?

He could (couldn’t /could not) dance

in the past. What about you?

— Can I borrow your bike, Millie?

— Yes, you can. Here you are.

— Could I smoke here?

— Sorry, I’m afraid you can’t.

— May I use your mobile phone?

— Of course you may.

Using ‘can’, ‘could’, ‘may’ and to talk about permission

1. can 与 could can 常用于口语中，表示非正式的请求，

请求对象一般是家人或朋友。 e.g. — Can I borrow your bike, Simon? 西蒙 , 我可以借一下你的自行车吗？ — Of course. 当然可以。

— Can I have some milk, Mum?

妈妈，我可以喝点牛奶吗？ — Yes, you can. 好的。

could 是 can 的过去式。在口语中， co

uld 常用来代替 can 向对方更委婉地提出请求，用法上比 can 正式，可以用于向老师或长辈提出请求，这时 could 不表示过去，回答一般还是用 can 。

e.g.— Could I use your computer, please?

请问，我可以用一下你的电脑吗？ — Yes, you can. 可以。— Could I hand in our homework later,

Mr Lin?

林老师，我可以稍后交作业吗？ — No, you can’t. 不，不行。

2. may

may 也可以用来征求对方意见，意为“可以”，相当于 could ，用法也比 can 更正式，更礼貌，一般用于向陌生人或所尊敬的人请求许可。

e.g.

— May I ask you a question?

我可以问你一个问题吗？ — Yes, please. 可以，请问。 — May I come in, Mr Wu?

吴老师，我可以进来吗？ — No, you may not. 不行。

1. ____ you speak Japanese?

2. ______ you play the piano last year?

3. ____ you cook?

4. ______ you use a computer when you

were 3?

Ask and answer questions using

“can” or “could”.

Try to make dialogues in pairs.

Can

Could

Can

Could

5. ______ you ride a bicycle when you

were very young?

6. ______ you understand English TV

programmes in 2000?

Could

Could

Complete the conversation

on page 85 with can, could,

or may.

• The girl is very pretty.

• What a pretty girl she

is!

• How pretty the girl is!

• The frog is very

strange.

• What a strange

frog it is!

• How strange the

frog is!

• The flowers are

very beautiful.

• What beautiful

flowers they are!

• How beautiful the

flowers are!

• The cakes are

very delicious.• What delicious

cakes they are!• How delicious

the cakes are!

A. How tall the man is!

B. What a tall man (he is)!

What a lovely girl she is!

What an easy question it is!

What interesting films they are!

(1) what + a/an + 形容词 + 可数名词单数 （ + 主语 + 谓语） !

(2) what + 形容词 + 可数名词复数 （ + 主语 + 谓语） !

What important news it is!

(3) what + 形容词 + 不可数名词 （ + 主语 + 谓语） !

How heavy the rain is!

How quickly the boy runs!

(1) How + 形容词 (+ 主语 + 连系动词 )!

(2) How + 副词 (+ 主语 + 行为动词 ) ！

Complete the dialogue

on page 86 with ‘What’

and ‘How’.

1. What a pretty girl she is!

_____ ______ the girl is!

2. How difficult the questions are!

_____ ________ _________ they

are!

3. How big the factory is!

_____ __ big factory __ ____!

How pretty

What difficult questions

What a it is

4. What a clever boy!

_____ ______ the boy _____!

5. How tall the trees are!

______ tall trees ____ ____!

6. What interesting books they are!

____ __________ the books ____!

7. How funny the girl is!

_____ __ funny girl ___ ___!

How clever is

What

they are

are How interesting

What a she is

8. How old the man is!

_____ ___ old man ___ ___!

9. What nice books they are!

____ ____ the books ____!

10. How amazing the building is!

_____ ___ amazing building __ __!

he isWhat an

How nice are

What an it is

将下列句子改为感叹句 :

1. The girl is very pretty.

How pretty the girl is!

What a pretty girl she is!

2. This is an old watch.

How old this watch is!

What an old watch it (this) is!

1. Remember the new words in this

lesson.

2. Do the exercises on the workbook.