she had the ability to do the work

问题描述:

she had the ability to do the work
这句话翻译成:她有能力作这件事.为什么要用had 而不是用have呢?这句话和过去时有什么关系么?
这只是个例句,没有上下文。

应该是对过去的陈述比如:She had the ability to do the work but she didn't do it.