They are basically the same, but there is a small difference in meaning often seen in the past tense when ‘could’ describes a general ability
e.g. She could speak Spanish
and 'was able to' describes a specific time which needed effort
e.g. She was able to talk to the man in Spanish
here the meaning of ‘be able to’ is like 'managed to' or 'succeeded in' e.g. 'He was able to climb the tree and rescue the cat'.
0 voted
May 26, 2014
1
Answered
'Haven't' is from 'have/has got' e.g. I have got long hair / I haven't got long hair.
You can also say 'I have green eyes / I don't have long hair'. Both are correct, you can choose which one you use.
As Douglas said 'have got' is maybe less common now. I'm a native speaker and I use both without realising or knowing why!
