[Grammar] I was able to play tennis yesterday.

[beachboy]

When somebody says "I was able to play tennis yesterday" does it necessarily mean they did play tennis the day before? What if I'm a professional tennis player recovering from an injure, like: "After being prevented from playing for more than two months due to an injure in my elbow, I was finally cured and able to play tennis yesterday"?

 

[bhaisahab]

'I was able to play tennis yesterday' seems an odd thing to say, to me. There are only very few contexts in which it would be natural. The noun is 'injury', 'injure' is a verb.

 

[beachboy]

'I was able to play tennis yesterday' seems an odd thing to say, to me. There are only very few contexts in which it would be natural. The noun is 'injury', 'injure' is a verb.

In what context would " I was able to ....... yesterday" sound natural? Could you help me with a sentence and show me the difference?

 

[beachboy]

'I was able to play' sounds natural enough to me in that context. 'I was cured' does not. I'd say:

After being unable to play tennis for more than two months because of an elbow injury, I was finally able to play (again) yesterday.


If you were able to play tennis then clearly your elbow was better.There is no need to mention it.

I got it. But, back to the question, does "I was able to play tennis again" necessarily mean that I played tennis, or can it merely mean that it was possible for my body to face a match?