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# able

«able» in Mova's school dictionary: **able to do something, you can do it; you have the skill…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### 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 →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/able/#m1)

2) An able person is clever or good at things, like an able pupil. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/able/#m2)

### 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 →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/able/#x1)
- Will you be able to come to my party? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/able/#x2)
- She wasn't able to open the jar. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/able/#x3)
- Birds are able to fly, but penguins are not. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/able/#x4)
- Owls are able to see in the dark better than us. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/able/#x5)
- He was able to finish the puzzle in ten minutes. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/able/#x6)
- The more able readers chose longer books. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/able/#x7)
- After the injury he was able to walk again. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/able/#x8)
- "Should I be able to see these flowers?" [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/able/#x9)

### 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!»](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/64-willows-ch10-part4-into-the-horse-pond/17/)
- [Before -able, a final e usually drops (adorable) but stays after soft c or g (noticeable, changeable).](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/9-suffixes-ous-ly-ful-less-ness-ment/24/)
- ["Can I?" asks if you are able or allowed; "May I?" asks permission more politely and formally.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/32-active-and-passive-voice-modal-verbs/17/)
- ["Differently abled" means disabled; it is a polite, positive-sounding phrase.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/4-illness-disability-and-babies/6/)
- ["Food insecure" (official) means hungry and not able to afford enough food.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/19-money-and-poverty/14/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «able» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/able/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.