could, were able to
Potevamo vedere ciò che pensavamo essere una nave di pirati da lontano.
We could see what we thought was a pirate ship from afar.
We could have killed ourselves!
— The Experiment - Cercasi cavie umane (2001)
We could have written a book.
Potevamo vedere le navi nemiche all'orizzonte.
We could see the enemy ships on the horizon.