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# unable

«unable» in Mova's school dictionary: **not able to do something, because you cannot or are not…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 2 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adjective (unable)

### meaning for a pupil

Unable means not able to do something, because you cannot or are not allowed to: «unable to come». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unable/#m1)

### sense in the lessons

In school letters and notices «unable» is the polite, formal way to say «can't»: «If your child is unable to attend…». In stories «she was unable to move» shows fear or danger. In science, «animals unable to fly» like penguins and kiwis. «Unable» is always followed by «to» and a verb. Opposite: able.

### examples

- I was unable to finish my homework because I was ill. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unable/#x1)
- Penguins are unable to fly. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unable/#x2)
- The firefighters were unable to reach the cat. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unable/#x3)
- She was unable to sleep because of the storm. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unable/#x4)
- We are unable to come to the party. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unable/#x5)
- The baby is unable to walk yet. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unable/#x6)
- He was unable to answer the question. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unable/#x7)
- She sat dumb and shamefaced, unable to reply. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unable/#x8)

### note

Always «unable to + verb», never «unable for». Formal; in speech «can't» or «couldn't» is more common. The noun is «inability», not «unability». Prefix un- = not.

### In the corpora

- [Breakfast gives the body and brain fuel for the morning; skipping it can leave you wobbly and unable to focus.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/80-sleep-and-healthy-eating/22/)
- [Not eating enough to change how you look can make you ill, tired and unable to concentrate.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/88-liking-how-you-look/15/)

### Trees and pragmatics

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