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| Page 11 -In the office there were a woman, a cat and a man. The woman and the man were talking. The cat watched them.- "Ah… hm, well…," Rickey broached it finally. Oh! You can do it! "What are you trying to say?" "Ah… no, I didn't mean anything…." "Well, I'll go back. Thank you." "You're welcome. Take care." Oh, you were not able to say. "Ah, I was not able to ask her," he talked to himself. He looked so sorry. Better luck next time, Rickey!  Today's points  -The point 1- You can do it! "You can do it." is you have the ability to do it. So this is used to cheer the hearer. Moreover we want someone to continue or make a effort, "Don't give up." can be used. (1) It's too difficult to do this homework. Don't give up. You can do it.  I'll go to the tennis courts. You can do it, Roy! Thank you. ….. don't turn left, Roy! Ah. Don't give up. Moreover, if we want to say keeping your pace or calming down, "take it easy." is used. (2) I have to play the violin at the concert. I'm very nervous. Take it easy. You can do it. My keeper takes the exam tomorrow. Is your keeper nervous? Yes. She seemed nervous? I said Take it easy. Good idea. But she heard only meaw. -The point 2- Take care. "Take" has many meanings and "care" has like caution or watch over. "Take care" means watch for something, for example, Watch for cars when you cross the street. Thus, it is used as good-bye. (3) See you tomorrow. Take care. I'll go for a walk in the campus. Okay. Take care. -The point 3- Oh, you were not able to say. "Be able to" means having the ability to do something. After "to", the verbs are put. It is similar to "can", but the usage is different. About the present event, "can" is usually used. It has the capable meaning. "Be able to" has the same capable meaning and the achievement. (4) I can swim. I can swim too. I was able to swim yesterday.
The differences appear when it is the past. (5) I could swim. I could swim too. I was able to swim across the river. The past is equivalent to the separation from the present. Thus, "can" has the capable meaning and "could" of the past tense of "can" has the same meaning merely in the past. For example, "I could swim." means I had capable of swimming in the past but I did not swim then. "Be able to" has the achievement meaning, so it can show I did swim then.
(6) I heard you took the entrance exam. Yes. I was able to pass the exam.
Sherry, can you climb this tree? I can do it. Yeah, I can do it too. I was able to do it last year.
-The point 4- "Ah, I was not able to ask her,"he talked to himself. "He talked to himself." means he said something to him or he said something when there is no people. Rickey often talks to himself. What is he saying? "I want to ask Mary." Really? -The point 5- Better luck next time, Rickey! "Better" has good and "luck" has happy. "Better luck next time." means you will succeed later. So it is used to cheer someone. And "next time" is put like the above, we can use it when s/he fails. (7) I failed the audition. I'm disappointed. Better luck next time. I failed twenty entrance exams. Better luck next time. I heard it twenty times. -Note- The cat watched them. "Watch" is similar to "see" or "look." But it means paying the attention or having the intention. "See" does not have the intention, for example, something appears before you by chance. Thus, when there is something which moves and we find it, we use "watch." "Look" is similar to "watch", it also has turning around. See the following figure 11-1. Figure 11-1. 
a. I didn't see her anywhere. b. I watched people walking along the street. c. I looked at her. (a) means no one appeared before me. (b) means I observed people. (c) means I turned around to her.
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