Povedati, kaj moram in kaj zmorem

Lekcija združi dve temi, ki sta na A2 ostali nedokončani. Prva je zmožnost in uspeh: can (A1 #20) ima premalo oblik. Druga so pravila: k must, have to (A2 #10) in should (A2 #11) dodamo „tako je predpisano“, „tako se sme“ in „tega ni treba“.

be able to — zmožnost v vsakem času. can ima samo dve obliki: can in could. Prihodnjika, perfekta in oblike za drugim glagolom nima — tam deluje be able to.

V sedanjiku običajno rečemo can: I can swim zveni naravneje kot I'm able to swim.

Znal ali uspel? V pretekliku angleščina loči dvoje, kar loči tudi slovenščina: „znal sem“ in „uspelo mi je“. could — zmožnost nasploh, skozi neko obdobje: I could read when I was four. Uspeh v enem konkretnem primeru — was able to ali managed to. managed to poudari: bilo je težko, a je uspelo.

V nikalnici te razlike ni, couldn't je primeren vedno: I couldn't find my keys this morning. Z glagoli zaznavanja see, hear je could o enkratnem primeru tudi v redu: I could hear music next door.

was able to in managed to sta v trdilni povedi skoraj enakovredna, a managed to naravnost pove, da je bilo težko in je stalo trud. Zato ga tako pogosto spremljata but in in the end: It took three hours, but in the end we managed to fix it. Če težav ni bilo, običajno rečemo kar Past Simple: I finished the report on Friday.

be supposed to — tako je predpisano, tako smo se dogovorili. Obveznost ne izhaja iz govorca in ne iz zakona, ampak iz pravil, dogovora ali tujih pričakovanj — kot slovenski „naj bi“. You're supposed to take your shoes off in the house. — tako je navada. I'm supposed to be at work at nine. — tako je dogovorjeno. Pogosto se v tej obliki sliši, da je v resnici drugače: I'm supposed to be working, but I'm watching football. V pretekliku skoraj vedno pomeni „naj bi bilo, a se ni zgodilo“: The train was supposed to arrive at six. — prišel pa je ob sedmih. not supposed to je mehka prepoved po pravilih, mehkejša od mustn't: You're not supposed to park here. supposed je tu pridevnik, zato je be potreben vedno: I'm supposed to, Were we supposed to…?

Primerjaj s have to. I have to be at work at nine — izbire nimam: če zamudim, bodo težave. I'm supposed to be at work at nine — tako je pravilo, a zveni, kot da ga je mogoče prekršiti in da ga bom morda celo prekršil. Zato je be supposed to primeren, kadar razlagaš, zakaj nekaj ni šlo po načrtu.

be allowed to — to se sme, to je dovoljeno. Dovoljenje da nekdo drug: pravila, zakon, starši, šef. allowed je tretja oblika od allow „dovoliti“, tako da je to po zgradbi trpnik, znan z obvestila Pets aren't allowed (A2 #19): ne „jaz dovolim“, ampak „meni je dovoljeno“. be se spreminja po osebah in časih, allowed to + glagol pa ostane.

can ali be allowed to? V sedanjiku o dovoljenju pogosto rečemo kar can: You can park here after six. be allowed to poudari, da dovoljenje prihaja od pravil ali od drugega človeka, zato zveni natančneje, ko o pravilih obveščamo ali sprašujemo: Are we allowed to bring food into the museum? V prihodnjiku in perfektu can nima oblike, in be allowed to je nujen — tako kot be able to: Will we be allowed to park here? O preteklosti je meja ista kot pri could in managed to: could — dovoljenje nasploh, za daljši čas (As a child I could watch TV until nine), was allowed to — dovoljenje v enem primeru (Yesterday we were allowed to leave early).

supposed to ali allowed to? Obe obliki govorita o pravilih, a o različnem. supposed to — kaj je treba narediti, allowed to — kaj se sme. V nikalnici je razlika v moči:

don't need to — ni potrebe. To je isto kot don't have to (A2 #10): lahko ne narediš. need je tu navaden glagol s to, zato se nikalnica, vprašanje in preteklik tvorijo z do: You don't need to come tomorrow. Does she need to bring anything? We didn't need to wait. Ne zamenjuj ga z mustn't in not allowed to — „ne smeš“: You don't need to come — ni ti treba priti; You aren't allowed to come — priti je prepovedano.

Vsa lestvica na enem primeru:

Tako se ne reče. ✗ We didn't need come so early → ✓ We didn't need to come so early. didn't need je navaden glagol, in za njim je potreben to.

Preveri se. could ali managed to: „bilo je težko, a sem ujel vlak“? Kaj pomeni The film was supposed to start at eight? Kako rečeš „v službi ne smemo uporabljati telefonov“?