I could swim when I was five.
When "could" is used to indicate an ability in the past, does it mean the ability is no longer processed in the present? For example, does the above sentence mean "I forgot how to swim or lost the ability now"?
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Sign up to join this communityI could swim when I was five.
When "could" is used to indicate an ability in the past, does it mean the ability is no longer processed in the present? For example, does the above sentence mean "I forgot how to swim or lost the ability now"?
Everyone knows that some aptitudes once acquired are never forgotten. Swimming and riding a bike are just two of them.
So even though the action is finished somewhere in the past:
I could swim when I was five.
This doesn’t mean that now, you don’t have this ability anymore, that is, it is finished too. Generally speaking the finishing of an action in some point in the past doesn’t imply that there are no consequences of it, later on. It is just finished, that’s all.
I could sing beautifully when I was five.
This doesn't really say anything about what you can do now. The ability to sing might be lost, or the ability to climb trees.
On the other hand:
I could cook when I was five.
We might assume you had not forgotten how to cook.
For example, does the above sentence mean "I forgot how to swim or lost the ability now"?
I don't think the sentence says anything about your current ability. You may or may not still have it.