able
part of speech
adjective (able; abler, ablest — rare; more able, most able)
meaning for a pupil
1) If you are able to do something, you can do it; you have the skill, strength, time or chance to do it. tree →
2) An able person is clever or good at things, like an able pupil. tree →
sense in the lessons
«Be able to» is used where «can» does not work: «I will be able to swim», «I have been able to read since I was five». In everyday and safety talk: «Are you able to reach the shelf?». It helps the reader know what someone can or cannot do. Phrases: «be able to», «not able to», «able-bodied», «more able». Many words end in «-able», meaning «can be done»: washable, readable, breakable.
examples
- I am able to swim a whole length now. tree →
- Will you be able to come to my party? tree →
- She wasn't able to open the jar. tree →
- Birds are able to fly, but penguins are not. tree →
- Owls are able to see in the dark better than us. tree →
- He was able to finish the puzzle in ten minutes. tree →
- The more able readers chose longer books. tree →
- After the injury he was able to walk again. tree →
- "Should I be able to see these flowers?" tree →
note
«Able to» is followed by the base form of a verb: «able to run», not «able to running». Opposite: «unable» («unable to come»). Noun: «ability»; «disabled» means having a disability. «Can» is shorter: «I can swim» = «I am able to swim».
In the corpora
- I should like to be able to tell my friends that once I had driven a motor-car!»
- Before -able, a final e usually drops (adorable) but stays after soft c or g (noticeable, changeable).
- "Can I?" asks if you are able or allowed; "May I?" asks permission more politely and formally.
- "Differently abled" means disabled; it is a polite, positive-sounding phrase.
- "Food insecure" (official) means hungry and not able to afford enough food.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «able» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.