able
adjectiveWord Family
- able adjective (≠ unable)
- ably adverb
- ability noun (≠ inability)
- disabled adjective
- disability noun
- able to do something
(used as a modal verb 用作情態動詞 to have the skill, intelligence, opportunity, etc. needed to do something 能；能夠 You must be able to speak French for this job. 幹這項工作你得會說法語。 A viral illness left her barely able to walk. 一場病毒引起的疾病使她走路都十分困難。 We're still able to get visas to come and go from Thailand. 我們仍然能夠從泰國獲得來往簽證。 I didn't feel able to disagree with him. 我覺得不能不同意他的意見。 Will you be able to come? 你能來嗎？ Are you really willing and able to do what is necessary? 你真的願意並且有能力做必要的事情嗎？ They don't even seem able to see what's good about their ideas. 他們甚至看不出自己的想法有什麽好的。 These families are less able to afford a balanced, healthy diet. 這些家庭負擔不起均衡、健康的飲食。
Grammar Point can / could / be able to / managecan / could / be able to / manage- Can is used to say that somebody knows how to do something:
can 表示懂得做： Can you play the piano? 你會彈鋼琴嗎？
該詞亦與表示看見、注意到等的動詞連用： I can hear someone calling. 我聽見有人在呼叫。
- Can is also used with passive infinitives to talk about what it is possible to do:
The podcast can be downloaded here. 播客可在此下載。
- Can or be able to are used to say that something is possible or that somebody has the opportunity to do something:
can 或 be able to 表示某事情有可能或某人有機會做某事： Can you/are you able to come on Saturday? 你星期六能來嗎？
- You use be able to to form the future and perfect tenses and the infinitive:
用 be able to 構成將來時、完成時和動詞不定式： You’ll be able to get a taxi outside the station. 在車站外可搭乘出租車。 I haven’t been able to get much work done today. 我今天未能幹多少工作。 She’d love to be able to play the piano. 她很希望能彈鋼琴。
- Could is used to talk about what someone was generally able to do in the past:
could 表示過去通常能做： Our daughter could walk when she was nine months old. 我們的女兒九個月大就會走路了。
- You use was/were able to or manage (but not could) when you are saying that something was possible on a particular occasion in the past:
關於在過去特定情況下可能的事用 was/were able to 或 manage，但不用 could： I was able to/managed to find some useful books in the library. 我總算在圖書館找到了一些有用的書。 - I could find some useful books in the library.
We weren’t able to/didn’t manage to/couldn’t get there in time. 我們未能及時趕到那兒。
亦可用 could 加表示看見、注意到、明白等的動詞表示此義： I could see there was something wrong. 我發覺出事了。
- Could have is used when you are saying that it was possible for somebody to do something in the past but they did not try:
表示過去有可能做某事但沒有做，用 could have： I could have won the game but decided to let her win. 我本可以赢得那場比賽，但還是決定讓她赢了。
Extra ExamplesLocal farmers were able to make a decent living selling their produce. 當地農民能夠通過出售他們的農産品來維持體面的生活。 Humans are uniquely able to use true language. 唯有人類能夠使用真正的語言。 I was just able to make out a dark figure in the distance. 我只能看到遠處有個黑影。 Once you've had some sleep you'll feel better able to cope. 只要睡上一會兒，你就會覺得更能應付了。 She is not physically able to take care of herself. 她身體不好，不能照顧自己。 Unfortunately they weren't able to come. 可惜的是，他們來不了。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- feel
- prove
- …
- fully
- perfectly
- quite
- …
-
intelligent; good at something 有才智的；有才能的；（某方面）擅長的 She's the ablest student in the class. 她是班上最有能力的學生。 We aim to help the less able in society to lead an independent life. 我們的宗旨是幫助社會上能力較弱的人獨立生活。
Extra ExamplesTopics Personal qualitiesc1He was a very able man in business matters. 他在做生意方面很有才幹。 less able students 不那麽聰明的學生 She seems very able. 她好像很能幹。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- seem
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
see also ably
Word Originlate Middle English (also in the sense ‘easy to use, suitable’): from Old French hable, from Latin habilis ‘handy’, from habere ‘to hold’.