be able to

== English == === Pronunciation === === Verb === be able to (third-person singular simple present is able to, present participle being able to, simple past was able to, past participle been able to) Can, to have the ability to. Synonyms: can, (archaic) be of power to, have might to Antonyms: be unable to, cannot, can't ==== 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 ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === See also === Appendix:English modal verbs === References === “be able to”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.