Definify.com

Definition 2024


be_able_to

be able to

English

Verb

be able to (third-person singular simple present being able to, present participle was able to, simple past and past participle been able to)

  1. Can, to have the ability to.

Usage notes

  • See be for the full inflection of be.
  • To be able to may be used whenever can (the modal verb) is used; it is always used in tenses where can, which is defective, has no corresponding form. For example, "He said I would be able to go" is the same as "He said I could go", and "You will be able to watch" replaces the non-existent *You will can watch.
  • To be able to can be used instead of could to avoid ambiguity between would be able to and was/were able to. For example, "I know I could win" can mean either "I know I was able to win" or "I know I would be able to win", whereas the forms using to be able to avoid this ambiguity.

Hyponyms

  • (have ability to): know how to

Translations

See also

  • Appendix:English modal verbs