1- Specific Ability on one occasion – successful: (Specific ability means that the person had the ability to do something in a specific situation or at a specific time.) When we talk about achieving something on a specific occasion in the past, we use "was/were able to" (= had the ability to) and "managed to" (= succeeded in doing something difficult).
- The burglar was able to get in through the bathroom window.
- The burglar managed to get in through the bathroom window even though it was locked.
📌 Notice: Could is not usually correct when we're talking about ability at a specific moment in the past. The typical mistakes learners make are to use "could" for past positive specific ability.
- My friend’s phone was engaged all day yesterday. Finally, late in the evening, I could speak to him.
In this sentence, we should use "I was able to speak to" or "I managed to speak to" him.
- We ran fast and could catch the bus. (Wrong. "could" cannot be used to mean succeeded).
📌 Notice: “Was/were able to” and “managed to” both suggest effort. They mean someone succeeded in doing something that was a challenge or took a special effort. However, the phrase “managed to” puts a little more emphasis on how hard the challenge was or how much effort it took.
Example:
When Jim was a boy he could climb trees very well (This was a general ability). However, there was one tree that was very tall and he couldn’t climb it (the general specific rule is only for "could" in positive so there is no issue here). One day, when he was feeling very energetic, he was a able to/ managed to climb the tree (specific time, situation).
2- Specific Ability on one occasion – unsuccessful: (When we talk about a specific occasion when someone didn't have the ability to do something, we can use "wasn't/weren't able to, didn't manage to" or "couldn't".):
- I couldn't find it.
- I wasn't able to it.
- I didn't manage to it.
In the first sentence, you are admitting your inability to find it, even though it may be there. The second two suggest further searching might uncover it.
- I couldn't find you.
- I was not able to / did not manage to find you.
"I couldn't find you" -- gives the implication that you couldn't find the person because of some reason that is unapparent, but your fault.
However, "I was not able to / did not manage to find you" -- gives the implication that there was some reason out of your control that caused you to not find them. Like traffic or too many people or that they were hiding.
📌 Note that "wasn't/weren't able to" is more formal than "couldn't", while "didn't manage to" emphasises that the thing was difficult to do.
📌 Notice: Sometimes, for the negative form of "managed to", we say, “couldn’t manage to” instead of “didn’t manage to.” They mean the same thing:
- He studied for months but couldn’t manage to pass the bar exam.
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