We couldn't leave the farm.

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Jesusengland  #514936  Sat, 17 May 08 05:51 PM
Hello.

What express "couldn't" in this sentence? Ability? Possibility?...
- We couldn't leave the farm.
Thanks.
  
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Ant_222  #514997  Sat, 17 May 08 09:47 PM
Hello.

To me it sounds like an expression of ability. To express a possibility I'd say: "We could stay at the farm".
  
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Huevos  #514998  Sat, 17 May 08 09:54 PM
Jesusengland
We couldn't leave the farm.
There's no context to know, eg, because we liked it too much, because their was no one to look after the animals, because I had a broken leg, because we had been locked in so we couldn't escape, because the car had no fuel, because we were snowed in.
  
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