title

Custom Search

 

[ Correct English | Common Errors |  | Sample Letters | Glossary of Correct Usage | Common Sentences | Q & A ]

[ English Compositions | High School Vocab | Words | Phrases | Celebrity | Poetry Corner | SPM essays ]

[ Literary English | Word Differentiation ]

Sponsored Links

Word  differentiation

Next>>

   
TOEFL Vocabulary
English Conversation
English Grammar
American Idioms
English Comprehension
English Summary
English News
Movie Reviews
 

Able

Capable

able  if someone or something is able to do something, they have skills or qualities which make it possible for them to do it. 
   
  capable - if a person or thing is capable of doing something, they have the ability, capacity, or potential to do it.
The different usage between able and capable is ' able ' has a broader meaning in one's ability but ' capable ' shows one's ability in a more specialized aspect.
   

*

She is an able teacher. ( She is a teacher with quality )

*

She is a capable teacher. ( She has the ability to be a teacher )

____________________

     

Capable also shows a sense of possibility whereas there is no such usage with able.

     
*   The situation is capable of improvement. 

In this situation, we can't replace capable with able to show the possibility for improvement. 

 

____________________

     
Ability can be acquired through a series of training, but capability has nothing to do with training.
* I do not doubt his ability to do the work.
 
 

lie, lay

 

little, a little

 

lose, loose

 

mature, matured

 

misused, disused

 

myself, by myself

 

moral, morale

 

officer, official

 

on time, in time

 

precede, proceed

 

percentage, per cent

 

persecuted, prosecuted

 

personal, personnel

 

 

price, prize

 

principal, principle

 

respectably, respectively

 

rational, rationale

 

rise, raise

 

site, sight

 

stationary, stationery

 

still, yet

 

super, superb

 

tenable, feasible

 

two cents, notion

 

weather, whether

 

wood, woods

 

 

Words differentiation 1

     
Sponsored Links
 
 
 
American Slang
English Proverbs
English Exercises
Common English mistakes
Ancient Chinese stories
Junior English essays
High School English essays
Lower Secondary English essays